Shinobi, Mirrorcle World
by mistressinwaiting
Summary: Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?
1. Episode 1

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**OMG, this is my eleventh fanfiction! Yay me! Hm… I should really try to finish the other ones, though… The only one that I actually finished was _Passion_. Oh dear, what should I do? I have so many ideas in my head… Oh well, who cares? At the very least, I won't be bored. Plus, this is my first fanfic with NaruHina as the main couple! Yay! I've always thought that couple was cute… And I've always wanted to write a fanfic in my version of how Shippuden should go. So, yeah, anyway, this fanfic is based more on the manga than the anime though you'll see some filler anime episodes in here, and this fanfic is named after Ayumi Hamasaki's _Mirrorcle World_, just for those who were wondering. Please enjoy! And please tell me in your reviews what you want to see in this fanfic!**

* * *

_"It's been about two and a half years…"_

_"Indeed…"_

Episode One

~His Return~

The knucklehead dropped his backpack onto the ground and jumped onto a pole, just enjoying the feeling of the wind against his body. Boy, was he glad to be home!

His mentor chuckled. "He's certainly cheerful today, isn't he?"

"Alright! It hasn't changed one bit!" the boy yelled, glancing over the village. Suddenly, he caught sight of a new craving. He laughed. "So they've added Old Lady Tsunade's ugly old mug to the mountain? Ha!"

"You've grown a lot, haven't you, Naruto?"

The boy turned around and smiled, jumping over to the rooftop. "Kakashi-sensei! You haven't changed at all!" Once he landed, he reached into his pocket. "Oh, yeah, I've got a present for you!"

"_Really_?" Kakashi asked, wondering what the knucklehead had in stored for him. He could always expect something unexpected from that idiot.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"That Naruto kid… It seems that he's returned to Konoha."

"Oh? Really?" Though she was smiling, her voice had a hint of sadness in them. The young kunoichi turned her eyes back to the window. "That's great…" _But that doesn't mean that I'll be able to spend any time with him… I'll have to leave soon…_

Tsunade saw her apprentice's face and sighed. She never liked seeing people down in the dumps especially Sakura. "I'll speak to the Elders," she said. "I'll try to see if they'll allow you to go on a mission with him."

A smile ran through Sakura's face. "Arigato, Tsunade-shisou."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"_What_?" Kakashi was truly in shock, Naruto's present in his hands. "Th-this… You… How…? This . . . this is…"

"This is the latest in the Icha-Icha series after three years!" Naruto finished his former sensei's sentence, smiling at his teacher's face. "It's really boring, but you'll still like it! I think…"

_Idiot… _Jiraiya crossed his arms and sulked. _A kid like you wouldn't understand the _beauty_ of that book… It's still an unreleased rare item too…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Right! Next stop, straight to Ichiraku ramen!"

And as Naruto started off running, he left his two teachers behind. It would seem some things would never change nor would Naruto ever tire of his ramen obsession.

"As promised," Jiraiya said once Naruto was out of earshot. "I'll leave Naruto back into your care, but I fear that the Akatsuki has been growing impatient… They may make an attempt on Naruto soon… I'm going to head around and gather as much information as I can."

"I expected as much," Kakashi said, prying his eyes away from his new book. "But I have something to speak to you about."

"What is it?"

"I'm sure Tsunade will speak to you about it soon, but I just wanted to get it off of my chest." Kakashi said, a fatherly tone in his voice. "The Elders are sending Sakura off on an ANBU's mission by herself."

"And you want me to check in on her every now and then?"

"Yes, if you could…"

Jiraiya sighed. "It'll be cutting into my time, but sure. I'll take care of the cherry blossom for ya. But if I could ask, why are the Elders sending her off? Surely, they could send someone else—someone more suitable for the job and someone who's not as young… She's just a girl! Why would they send _her_?"

"They fear that Tsunade has gotten more powerful politically in the past couple of years," Kakashi explained.

"And they want to keep an eye on the most powerful ninja in her arsenal, is that so?"

"Yes. With Sakura out of the way, Naruto's completely unaware of anything that goes on within Konoha's political scrutiny. But I fear that the Elders might not stop with just sending Sakura away."

"You think they might get rid of her?"

"The Elders have been rumored to do so when it comes to securing their power. They're getting greedy… They'll turn to drastic measures soon."

"_AHH_!" Naruto's scream brought the two out of their conversation. "Sakura-chan!"

"Eh? _Naruto_?" And on the girl's first observation of her teammate, she found something appalling. "You've . . . you've gotten taller than me?" she asked him.

"Huh?" Naruto glanced at her and smiled. "I guess I did!" But just to make sure, he started measuring himself.

Sakura giggled at his antics. _Hm… Naruto, you've become really strong since I last saw you, right? I won't have to worry . . . right?_

"Naruto-niichan!" And Konohamaru appeared in his sexy jutsu form, phasing Kakashi and Jiraiya. But once Konohamaru released the jutsu, Naruto just chuckled.

"Konohamaru," he said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not a kid anymore. From now on, you shouldn't use that jutsu either."

Sakura, though a bit surprised, smiled. _So…_ she thought, _you haven't just matured in appearance. That makes me a bit sad… You really have become amazing, Naruto… I'm sure you've come back with a lot of great jutsu too, right?_

"Such a jutsu is now mediocre!" Naruto suddenly yelled, almost angrily. "Behold! The _new_ perverted ninjutsu I've been developing! Here we go!"

_Right, like some . . ._ "PERVERTED JUTSU! YOU _IDIOT_!" Sakura's fist collided with Naruto's face, and he went flying. And once he landed, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shook him like crazy. "I WAS WRONG!" she screamed, tears almost coming out of her eyes. "YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED ONE _BIT_! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU FOR TWO YEARS AND, WITHIN TWO _MINUTES_, YOU JUMP STRAIGHT TO THAT! YOU _IDIOT_! HOW AM I _NOT_ SUPPOSED TO WORRY ABOUT YOU! HOW—"

"_Anoo_… Sakura?" Kakashi asked, Konohamaru holding onto his leg behind him. "Calm down, would you? Konohamaru here is terrified…" _And so am I, though I won't admit it…_

"Jiraiya… Naruto has . . . grown more and more like _you_ in these two past years, hasn't he…?" Tsunade asked, a bit annoyed with this outcome.

_Well, with that strength and beauty… You've seem to have raised a Tsunade junior, no?_ the old man thought, feeling a bit bad for his student.

"Right… Well, anyway," Tsunade said. "The nostalgia ends here… Kakashi!"

And the jonin closed his book, leaving the two teammates to wonder about what was going on.

"Well, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Kakashi asked. "From now on, the two of you will come with me on team-related missions. It's different than before. It's no longer teacher and pupil. Starting today, we're equal Konoha shinobi."—he took out two small bells from his pocket—"But first, I'm curious as to how you've developed. The rules are the same as when I first met you two. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you'll never succeed in getting the bells."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"The rules are the same," Kakashi repeated once they reached their destination. "No matter how you do it, try to get the bells away from me. You have until sunrise tomorrow."

But his two former students were half-listening and half-looking around their old training fields, reminiscence running through their minds.

"This place… I've missed it." Naruto sighed.

"Ah, that's right." Kakashi said. "This is where you first trained, isn't it?"

"Team seven…" Sakura said, wallowing in her memories. "The three-man team…"

"That time, Sasuke was around too . . . wasn't he?" Kakashi said.

And suddenly, an ominous aura descended upon the land. And both Sakura and Naruto went into their respective fetal positions.

_Sasuke's name is a taboo for these two, huh? _"Well, then . . . shall we begin?"

"So . . . you won't do it reading the book this time?" Naruto asked, standing up and stretching.

"Or did you already finish it?" Sakura inquired as she put on her gloves.

"No… I think I should save the enjoyment for later. Besides, this time . . . for some reason,"—he lifted his headband to reveal his sharingan eye—"I get the feeling that I should take this seriously too."

And then Naruto threw a few shuriken at the jonin. Kakashi deflected them all with a kick and, once Naruto jumped into the air, he threw his own shuriken at the boy. Naruto quickly created a shadow clone. The clone grabbed onto his arm and pulled him out of the way.

_Clever! _Sakura thought. _He couldn't move in the air, so he used a clone to help him dodge. Perhaps I don't have to worry, after all…_

The clone turned into a large four-pointed blade but, before Naruto could throw it, Kakashi restrained him. However, unlike the last time, Naruto was a step ahead. Another clone appeared behind Kakashi, holding a kunai to the jonin's back.

_His use of his clones and his timing… He's gotten smarter. _"But your haste hasn't changed from the last time we did this. I didn't say start yet." _But you've matured, haven't you, Naruto?_ "Alright, start!" And Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He was nowhere to be seen.

_Right… Above… Left… Behind… If he's not anywhere then…_ "Below!" Sakura yelled as she brought her fist down to the ground, causing an insane earthquake no one expected.

_What insane power! _Kakashi thought as his hiding place was compromised. _Tsunade didn't just teach her medical jutsu, did she?_

Sakura smiled. "Found you!"

Naruto could barely keep the grin off of his face. _I should really stop playing around in front of her… She could really kill me!_

_She builds up the maximum amount of chakra in her fist. Then she releases it in an instant… _Kakashi observed. _Without precise chakra control, she couldn't do that… It's a real feat… Medical jutsu plus amazing strength… No, that's not all. Because Sakura was originally a genjutsu type, she may become an even better kunoichi than the Fifth… Time for me to stop playing around…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I already knew it, but . . . the sharingan is really amazing…" Sakura said, taking in a few breaths. "And not only that, his seal-making speed . . . it's really too fast… If we could stop him from using both of his hands . . . then we could get the bells."

"Yeah… Kakashi-sensei's unreasonably strong…" Naruto replied, keeping an eye out for their silver-haired opponent. "He's smarter than Shikamaru… And he has a better sense of smell than Kiba… He has better control of his sharingan than Sasuke and better taijutsu than Bushy Brows."

"But even someone like him has a weak point!" Sakura clarified. "If we just think about it…"

And once Naruto thought it over, he realized something important. "Ah…! He _has_ a weak point!"

"Wh-what is it?" Sakura asked, once Naruto started snickering.

"Oh, come now, Sakura-chan. Think about it _carefully_… If you really think back about how Kakashi-sensei's been until now, you'll understand…"

"_What_?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

_They're here! _Kakashi quickly got onto his feet as the two jumped out of the trees. _They really have to be joking, making a direct attack like this…_

"Now, Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

"Right! Hey, Kakashi-sensei! The last joke in Icha-Icha Tactics, the truth is that the main character—"

What? Kakashi was now scared—well, not _scared_. There was really no word to describe what he was feeling at that moment. He covered his ears without thinking, but he could read Naruto's lips. Oh, would the torture not _end_? _Dammit! Because of the sharingan, I can tell what he says from just his lips_! And so, he closed his eyes against his better judgement.

_Chirin~chirin!_

"Huh?" When Kakashi opened his eyes, he was met with the smiling faces of his two students.

"A ninja should look underneath the underneath. Right, Kakashi?" Sakura asked as she and Naruto burst into laughter. They just defeated the copy-cat ninja!

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"You two have become strong… I'm amazed that you were able to get the bells."

Naruto laughed. "Well, maybe I've surpassed you, Kakashi-sensei!"

"What are you saying?" Sakura asked, shaking her head. "You conceited idiot…"

"But anyway, I'm still young…" Kakashi said. "And recently, I developed a new jutsu…"

However, at that moment, Naruto's stomach rumbled. "Hey, we haven't gone home or to Ichiraku Ramen yet!" he said to Sakura, ignoring whatever Kakashi had just said.

"Yeah, I'm a bit hungry form training yesterday…" Sakura replied. She, too, forgot about whatever her former sensei was saying.

And so Kakashi was left to gloom and doom in his lonely spotlight. _Back then, they'd react to every little thing. They were so cute then… What happened to those cute children I knew?_

"Right! It'll be Kakashi's treat!"

At this, the jonin snapped out of his wallowing and refused. "Sorry, I have to create and submit a list of formations of the new teams. So it's good-bye for now." And _Poof_! He was gone.

"He ran away!"

But his teammate wasn't paying attention. "Hey, Shikamaru! Temari-san!" Sakura called to the people she saw in the crowd. "Who do you think this is?"

"Hey, well if it isn't Naruto!" the genius exclaimed, recognizing the idiot without a moment's hesistation.

"Shikamaru!"

"Did you just come home then?"

"No, I came back yesterday."

"Really? So . . . has any of you idiocy left you?"

"Nope," Sakura said. "He hasn't changed _at all_!"

"I . . . I see…" Shikamaru said, understanding the girl's statement. After all, who would Naruto be without his stupidity?

"So, anyway, Shikamaru," Naruto bounced right back. "Are you on a _date_?"

"Ha! You're joking!" Temari laughed. It was the _stupidest_ question she had ever heard. "Why would I go out with _him_?"—she shook her head—"There's chunin exam soon. I'm just going back and forth between Suna and Konoha for meetings."

"And it's troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed. "Since I'm one of the examiners, I was told to go see off the messengers from Suna."

"A chunin exam, huh?" Naruto asked. "That brings back memories…"

"So . . . what are you going to do, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. "You're the only one in our class who hasn't become a chunin."

"_WHAT_?" Naruto's scream could be heard from all the way around the world. "Then . . . then . . ."—he turned to the cherry blossom—"you're a chunin, too, Sakura-chan?"

"Plus, Neji, Kankuro, and Temari here are already jonin." Shikamaru added.

"_WHAT_?" Naruto could hardly believe his ears. "Wait, then what about Gaara?"

"He's become Kazekage."

"_WHAT_?"

"Oh, stop screaming, will ya?"

"_Itai_! Sakura, itai desu!"

Shikamaru groaned. _Some things never change, do they?_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Suna has been warned and are preparing." Jiraiya said to Kakashi and Tsunade. "ANBU have been deployed to key points in the outskirts. Even so, I wonder if they'd be able to forcibly stop someone like me from entering the country."

"But why would the Akatsuki start with flashy movements?" Kakashi asked. "What's their objective?"

"I don't know that much. I'm going to go around and investigate some more."

But even with that said, Tsunade couldn't help but worry.

"Daijōbu," Jiraiya reassured her. "They won't get Naruto. I'll make sure of it."

"Yes, I know that… But," the Hokage sighed. "I've been putting off giving Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi a mission as it would prolong Sakura's staying here. Now that such trouble is going on, I think Sakura would be better off going now than later…"

"Well, what does her mission include?"

"Emptying the Bingo book." The way Tsunade said it, she made it sound like the worst possible thing that could happen to her apprentice.

"_What_? Such a dangerous and important mission?"

"Yes, the Elders are trying to make sure she won't be returning anytime soon…"

"Is she given a time limit?"

Tsunade shook her head. ". . . No. It's either she has to finish her mission or die trying."

* * *

**Arigato = thank you**

**Chirin~chirin = [sound of bells]**

**Daijōbu = don't worry**

**Itai = ow; ouch**

**Itai desu = that hurts**

**Niichan = older brother (or friend who's like an older brother)**

**Shisou = master (as in teacher)**

**Okay, now that I look over this, it's horrible! I can't believe this! It's a horrible chapter! Oh, god! I'm sorry peoples! I've failed you! Wah! I need help, peoples! In your reviews, please tell me what you want to see in this fanfic because, so far, this isn't going as I wanted it to.**


	2. Episode 2

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**Yay! A new chapter! Hopefully, this is a bit better than my last chapter, but I seriously doubt that since it's so short and I'm skiping all of the battle scenes because we know what's going to happen and all. Plus, in my version of Naruto, there's more romance and I want to get straight to the damn point unlike the original manga which is going crazy right now. This chapter is really the only one that I will have major skipping in cuz I just don't want to have to type everything up and have everyone else skip over it because they already know what happened.**

**Also, you peoples are all waiting for Hinata, right? She's coming in the next chapter! So thanks for your patience and please enjoy this short chapter as I work on the next!**

* * *

Episode Two

~His Fellow Jinchūriki, Her Fellow Medic~

"_Eh_? That mission…? Gee, no thanks!"

"The Hell?" Tsunade asked, pissed off at the idiot. He was the one requesting a damn mission! He should take a what he could get! "What kind of answer is _that_?"

_Please don't talk so selfishly, Naruto…_ Kakashi thought, fearful of his life._ She'll get angry with _me_, and I don't want that on my head…_

Iruka massaged his forehead. Why was it that Naruto had a set of lungs and not brains? "You haven't mentally matured, have you, Naruto?"

"Sorry, Sensei." Sakura said, throwing Naruto into a headlock. "I'll sort him out!" _The Hell is wrong with him? Doesn't he know that Tsunade's terribly horrible whenever someone pisses her off?_

"The Third was more sensible…" Naruto grumbled, remembering how the old man had switched missions for him.

"What was that?" Tsunade asked, a bit more annoyed with the knucklehead of a ninja. "What did you say?"

"Oh, he was just talking to himself, shisou!" Sakura quickly lied. It would have been bad if Naruto were to end up dead and by the Hokage's hand…

The doors slammed opened then, and an ebony-haired woman ran in. "Hokage-sama, it's bad! It's really bad!"

"What is it, Shizune?" Tsunade asked, wondering lazily what could be the big bad news her assistant was bringing.

"Suna's Kazekage has been taken by the organization called Akatsuki! We just received the message!"

With that said, everyone in the room just stopped what they were doing, their brains just trying to process what just had happened. Gaara . . . Gaara was _kidnapped_? And by the Akatsuki? Just what was going on? Weren't they after _Naruto_?

"Right,"—Tsunade was the first to regain herself—"Team Kakashi, I will tell you your first mission… You are immediately to go to Suna, find out the situation, and relay it to Konoha. After that, follow Suna's orders and back them up!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As Temari stuff herself with a few tasty dango, she stared at the blue sky. She was going home soon, so she might as well rest up. But as she reached for her cup of tea, without even touching it, the cup cracked. Temari stared at the large fracture. She _knew_ it was a bad omen.

_I don't believe in this sort of thing, but…_ She was worried. _I've just had a bad premonition… Just what's happened?_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Well, off we go!" Naruto exclaimed, happy as ever that he got an A-rank mission.

"Okay, Tsunade-shisou!" Sakura said. "We're ready!"

Tsunade nodded. "Remember to come see me when you've returned, Sakura."

"Right!"

"Do your best, Naruto!" Iruka wished his favorite student the best of luck.

"Yeah, I will, Iruka-sensei! Just leave it to me!"

But before the team was about to set out…

"Yo!" Jiraiya jumped down from wherever he came from. "Going off on a mission?"

"Yep!" Naruto saluted him.

"But more importantly," Jiraiya walked over to the Hokage, "Something terrible has happened. Suna's Kazekage—"

"Yes, I know." Tsunade said. "I'm about to send these guys off to Suna now."

"But," Jiraiya whispered into her ear, "you _do_ know about the _'thing'_ between the Akatsuki and Naruto, right?"

When Tsunade gave her firm answer, "Yes," Jiraiya called Naruto over to him. "Be careful when it comes to the Akatsuki!"

"Yeah, I know," the knucklehead said. "They've got something against me so, this time, I'm coming after them."

And in a few minutes, Team Kakashi set off on their mission.

"_Worried_?" Tsunade asked Iruka who continued to watch as the team grew smaller and smaller as the distance between them and the village grew.

"Nah…" the academy teacher answered. "He isn't the kind of weak shinobi that I should worry about. Sakura, too… Maturity is a weird thing…"

"Yeah…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Temari-san!" Sakura exclaimed as she saw the Suna nin in a clearing in front of them.

"You guys…?" the blonde asked. She hadn't expected anyone within miles of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't you hear?" Kakashi asked.

"Hear . . . _what_?"

"Gaara was kidnapped by the Akatsuki!" Naruto answered.

"_What_…? Gaara…" Temari cursed under her breath. "I had a bad feeling…" But for her little brother to be abducted like that…

"It'll take three days to reach Suna from here…" Kakashi explained. "Let's get going…"

✿｡.:***Upon reaching Suna***:.｡✿

"The . . . the White Fang!" the old lady gasped, and she went in for the kill.

But luckily, Naruto fended her off before she could wring her wrinkly hands around Kakashi's neck.

"Why are you going at Kakashi-sensei so suddenly for?" Naruto yelled at her. There was no way in Hell that he'd let his sensei be taken out! And certainly not by the likes of an old hag!

"I remember that time…" the old lady said, ever-so dramatically. "That White Fang…! My son's enemy . . . I will get my revenge for him today!"

"Ah! No," Kakashi said, his hands out in front of him defensively. He didn't blame the lady for confusing him with his late dad, but really! To attack him in the open? Oh god, _really_? "I'm not—"

"There's no use arguing!"

But at that point, an old man held out his hand to stop all this madness. "Sister, take a good look." he said. "There's a strong resemblance, but he isn't the White Fang."

And then the old hag started crackling! "I was just pretending to be stupid!" she said, leaving everyone to their respective thoughts.

✿｡.:***after Kankuro gets medical treatment because I'm too lazy to type this out***:.｡✿

"I don't think there's any need to worry about his life anymore," Sakura said, wiping her forehead. The jutsu she had used really was something… It had taken almost all of her chakra. "I've directly removed the poison."

Temari fell to her butt and let out a relieved sigh. Her brother was safe, thank god…

"Now I have to make an antidote for the little bit of poison left in his body," Sakura explained, "so we can't relax yet. Please gather the ingredients I say!"

_Sakura-chan… _Naruto thought, looking at his teammate with new respect. He knew that she had trained under Tsunade, but really . . . _You're great!_

"You're a lot like that slug woman…" Old Lady Chiyo said. "That a girl like you would come…"

"Well, it's because Tsunade-sama's my mentor." Sakura replied.

"Sister," the old man said, "Time is really flowing by us…"

✿｡.:***Okay we know what happens so let's skip to after Sakura punches the boulder, after the battles, to Sasori's death***:.｡✿

"I won't be able to move much longer," the puppet master said. "Before that, I'll do something pointless for you . . . a reward . . . for defeating me. You wanted to know about Orochimaru, didn't you? Go to the Tenchi Bridge in the Grass Village, at noon . . . two months from now."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"I have a spy in Orochimaru's subordinates… I was . . . supposed to meet him there…"

✿｡.:***To when Chiyo exchanges her life to save Gaara's***:.｡✿

"Bring him back?" Naruto asked as the old woman continued her forbidden jutsu. "Can you really do that?"

"This jutsu is Chiyo-sama's alone…" Sakura answered, her eyes sad.

But in a few seconds, the old woman started trembling. She soon began to cough. "Damn…! Not enough . . . chakra!"

"Then please use mine!"

Her eyes widened at the blonde shinobi.

"Old Lady, can you do that?"

She smiled a small bit before nodding her head. "Put your hands on top of mine."

Naruto did as she asked, and the old lady began taking his chakra to complete her jutsu. "I am glad," she began to say, "that someone like you appeared in this world of shinobi that we old people created. In the past, everything I did was a mistake… But at the very end, it looks like I was able to do the right thing… Suna and Konoha . . . their futures are differing from our past…" She smiled. "What Kakashi said about your mysterious power, that power may change the future… Become Hokage unlike any before…

"And Sakura… Do not risk your life for an old hag next time… Save that which is important to you… You are a lot like me… There are not many women with chivalrous spirits matching those of men. You may become a kunoichi surpassing your own master…

"Naruto, a request from an old hag… You are the only one who knows Gaara's pain… And he knows yours… Help him out…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Chiyo-sama of Suna died in the line of duty," Shizune said, reading the status report to the Hokage. "And thus, the Kazekage returned safely. Team Gai and Team Kakashi have completed their mission without a hitch and plan to return to Konoha after three days."

"Got it…"

"_Anoo_…" The black haired woman seemed hesitant to speak. "Tsunade-sama?"

"What is it?"

"Although it worked well for this mission, was it truly a good idea to send Naruto, a jinchūriki, to those people known as the Akatsuki?" Shizune questioned Tsunade's motives. "Even though Hatake Kakashi was with them, why would you take that much of a risk with Naruto?"

"Just that, because he _is_ a jinchūriki," Tsunade answered smugly. "The only person who can understand a jinchūriki is a jinchūriki… Furthermore, he has a mysterious power… Everyone starts to believe in him."

The idiot… She remembered how he got her to believe… He was so reckless… Going up against Kabuto, Orochimaru's right-hand man… How could he do such a thing? And for her? Some old lady? Why, he didn't know who he was lying down the line for! She chuckled at the memory. Sometimes, she wondered if he'd really make a good Hokage someday, always trying to be the hero and saving everyone… Even savying those he didn't _know_!

"But . . . with that said, the Akatsuki might now know that Sakura was a bond with Naruto…" Shizune said. "And once she returns, the Elders will send her off on that mission. What if the Akatsuki—"

"I only argued with the Elders because I didn't want her to partake in such a mission…" Tsunade explained. "She's so young… For her hands to be bloodied with so many victims…"—she shook her head—"I do not want to see that. However, I do believe that she's strong enough to carry out such a mission. If not, her training was for nothing then… I do not want to see her off, knowing that she'd either die or will be unable to return home until she's finished her mission… She's a like a daughter to me… I'll see to it that she'll be able to return home, regardless of her mission status."

Shizune's worry diminished a bit. She had come to see Sakura like a younger sister. When she heard of the Elder's decision, she was more than shocked—more than worried. But at least, she wouldn't be the only one praying for the cherry blossom…

"But then, what about Naruto's team?" Shizune asked. "He'll need an able kunoichi to assist him."

The old blonde smirked. "That… I'll leave up to Sakura. I think she has someone in mind, a certain Hyuga heiress I believe…"

* * *

**Thank you for reading this stupid chapter. Please review, blah, blah, blah. And tell me again what I have to improve. I know I'm not descriptive yet, but I will get better. I'm just not going to waste too much time on being descriptive on the parts you guys already know, okay? ****The next chapter will definitely be longer and more descriptive! **

**Also, I know the meeting with Kabuto is in ten days in the original manga/anime. But I needed a better time frame for something I have planned, so wait for it, kay?**

**Thank you and please review!**


	3. Episode 3

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**Okay, here comes the chapter a lot of youse were waiting for! After this chapter, it's good-bye Sakura and hello Hinata! But for those of you who are anti-Sakura fans, she ain't dying, got that? She's just . . . not going to be with Naruto anymore. Hinata, on the other hand… Well, you'll see! The next chapter will be more NaruHina, but this one is just Sakura saying good-bye to everyone, 'kay?**

**Thank you and please enjoy!**

* * *

Episode Three

~Her Good-Bye, Her Replacement~

"Can we trust it?" Tsunade asked her apprentice after receiving the new information. "What if it's a trap? With Orochimaru as bait, the Akatsuki could be lying in wait for Naruto, their target, at Tenchi Bridge."

"If it's a trap then I believe Naruto will fight!" Though she was worried, Sakura's voice was unwavering. Naruto was her teammate, and she knew him enough to say that he wouldn't go down without a fight! "He won't be taken down by those people! He'll continue fighting for what he believes in!"

"You say Naruto will fight, but Kakashi won't be able to leave Konoha for at least _three months_ as he's under observation for using that new sharingan of his… Not only that but you'll be gone as well." Tsunade explained, chuckling wryly. "Naruto will have to break in a new team and, knowing him, it might take _weeks_!"

"In that case, you should send in a different team," Shizune suggested. "Even if we send our strongest shinobi, you must leave Naruto out!"

Sakura stared at the woman. She knew Shizune was worried, but for her to suggest such a thing… Didn't she know she'd just cause Naruto pain? For him to be left out on a mission to retrieve Sasuke… She didn't even want to think of that. She herself was already left out. She needed to know Naruto was there. If not then…

"Shizune," Tsunade started, "Sakura is like you, one of the few people I trust. And she trusts Naruto. Even though she's not going, I'm _definitely_ sending Naruto."

"Then wouldn't it be the same if _my_ team went?" Shizune asked.

". . . No, it's not the same. Both Sakura and Naruto are desperately chasing after their old teammate, Sasuke. They strongly believe more than anyone in rescuing him… Those strong feelings will bring the mission to a success… That's why you and Sakura are different."

Tsunade shifted her weight, leaning against the railing. "Now . . . with that said, Sakura…"

"Hai?"

"Only Neji, Shikamaru, and Kakashi know of your mission. It's up to you whether or not you'll tell the rest of your friends. However, there are more pressing matters at hand. Naruto needs a team, and you know Naruto more than anyone. He needs someone to watch over him, to make sure he's alright, and to make sure he doesn't rush into things. Which kunoichi do _you_ think will be the best candidate for your replacement?"

Sakura smirked. "Hinata," was her answer. "Hyuga Hinata."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . will that be okay for you guys?"

Kiba thought it over for a minute and shrugged. Sakura's suggestion and proposal seemed full-proof, and there was really nothing wrong with it. It was just a small alteration of teams. That was it.

And when Akamaru gave an approving bark, his answer was locked in. "Well, since it's _you_ who recommended her then why not?"

"It'll certainly do her some good to expand herself in terms of her teammates," Shino said, seconding Kiba's respond. "And since it's Naruto, it'll certainly help her."

"Daijōbu, Sakura." Kurenai smiled at the kunoichi. "Naruto needs her more than these two do. Of course, we'll agree to this especially since you need to help Tsunade gather information."

The cherry blossom's smile was almost larger than her face. "Arigato, Kurenai-sensei!" Sakura bowed. "Now all I have to do is break the news to both Hinata and Naruto!" And with that, she ran off to with those two.

"Heh, I wonder how Hinata will take the news." Shino said.

"She'll probably faint!" Kiba laughed. "But she's been full of surprises lately. Who's to say that she wouldn't jump with joy?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So," Naruto said, stuffing his mouth with ramen. He swallowed his food before continuing. "What's the deal, Sakura-chan?" he asked. "There has to be a reason why you're treating me to ramen and spending everything in your wallet on me. What's the catch?"

Sakura giggled. "Nothing's up, Naruto. _What_? I can't have a nice relaxing lunch break with my teammate who had left to train for two _years_? Wow, you are so _mean_!"

"I didn't mean it like that, Sakura-chan!" Naruto quickly tried to come up with an excuse before he was presented with a black eye. "I just . . . just . . ."

"Oh, Hinata-chan!"

Naruto let out his held breath. _Whew_! Saved by the Hyuga heiress… Wait, Hyuga heiress?

"Oh, hey, Hinata-chan!" he said as the girl came over. He looked her over. Wow, she had gotten prettier… He noticed she had let her hair grow out, and everything else was just . . . _wow_! He couldn't think of a better word. "I haven't seen you since I got back! How are you?"

"Na-Na-Naruto . . . kun?" Hinata could feel her face redden. She had thought Sakura had invited her for lunch for some girl talk or something related to that, but never in her years did she think Sakura would set her up with Naruto like this!

_I heard he was back, but . . . what do I do…? I'm not ready… I haven't seen him in almost three _years_!_ She started to fidget her fingers. _What do I say? Oh dear…_

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto was suddenly right in front of her. His face was so close to hers too… "Why are you so quiet?"

"_Anoo_ . . ."

"And why are you so red? Are you sick or something?" He placed his hand on her forehead. And then…

_Bam_!

"What? _Hinata-chan_! Why did you faint?"

"Naruto! What did you _do_?"

"Sakura, I swear I didn't do _anything_!"

✿｡.:***Minutes later, after Hinata is conscious again***:.｡✿

"Geez, Hinata," Sakura said, "If you keep doing that around Naruto, how am I supposed to trust you as the kunoichi on his team?"

"_What_?" This had caught both Hinata's and Naruto's attention but for different reasons. Naruto was just as shocked as Hinata not because of the fact that she would be on his team but because of the fact that Sakura was _leaving_ him! She was _abandoning_ him! First, Sasuke; now, _her_? Why was she doing this? And to _him_? How could she?

Hinata, on the other hand, was just shocked that she was going to be on _Naruto's_ team. Wh-wh-what happened to her team? Did they _ditch_ her? Did they just throw her away? But all that was just small matters because now she was going to be on _Naruto's_ team! Oh, god! She felt as though she'd faint again.

"Okay, calm down you two." Sakura said. "Naruto, stop thinking that I've abandoned you. And Hinata, don't you _dare_ faint again! Let me explain and you two will understand." She cleared her throat once she knew she had gotten their attention. "I'm going to be leaving soon, and . . . I don't know when I'll be back—"

"_WHAT_?" Naruto's screams were so loud that everyone on the streets stopped what they were doing and just stared at him. "YOU'RE _LEAVING_ THE VILLAGE? WH-WH-_WHY_?"

"Naruto, just listen, okay? I'm leaving because I have to visit some family members, and apparently they don't all live in Konoha nor do they all live in the same place, so I'll be travelling a lot." Sakura explained. "Naruto, as much as I want to, I'm afraid I won't be going on that mission with you anymore. I'm sorry. This just . . . it just came up, you know?"

Naruto, though saddened by this fact, tried to smile. "Daijōbu, Sakura-chan… I understand. It's okay."

The rosette smiled a bit and then turned to the Hyuga. She held the girl's hands. "Hinata, now I know this is sudden, but I do need _someone_ to take care of Naruto in my absence on any future missions. Your team has already given their approval. All I need now is yours, and it's all set. What do you say?"

"Well…" Hinata really didn't know what to say. She was so happy, but she was also sad that Sakura would be leaving. What was she to do?

"Please, Hinata?" Sakura pleaded again. "Naruto's a reckless, stupid, and loud fool."—she ignored the "_Hey_!" that came from the knucklehead's mouth—"I really can't stop worrying about him unless I _know_ that you'll be watching him for me. You're the _only one _I can trust with him, so . . . please? Oh, won't you do it?"

"W-w-well…"

"_Please_?" This was when Sakura turned on her puppy-dog eyes.

"If . . . if you s-say so, Sakura-san."

There was a squeal. "Oh, thank you, thank you, Hinata!" Sakura had thrown the Hyuga into a tight hug. "You don't know what this means to me!"

"You're . . . you're welcome…" Hinata's face was completely red now. Just the thought on being on Naruto's team…

"When are you leaving, Sakura-chan?" Naruto's question threw the girl's out of their happy moment.

Sakura released Hinata then. She hated it when Naruto looked like that. He had even stopped eating his ramen! Oh, god, that's why he needed Hinata, and that's why she chose the Hyuga heiress in the first place. Hinata was really the only choice (and the only one who could probably deal with him).

"First thing in the morning," she answered. She took his hands. "But I'll write to you _every_ day! And I'll send back some new ramen flavors for you to try! I promise I will!"

"Mm…" Naruto still pouted. "Fine…"

But Hinata just watched this scene with her own sad eyes. Even new ramen flavors couldn't snap him out of his sad trance. And rather than a thousand of letters of love, he'd still rather have Sakura by his side… She knew she couldn't take Sakura's place, but still . . . she hoped that she could find some way into Naruto's heart. And maybe, just maybe, she hoped she could change his feelings for her into love…

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . you're leaving on a recon mission under the cover that you're going on a _vacation_?" Ino asked. "Gee, Forehead, you're kind of lucky in some ways and unlucky in others. I wish I could go goofing off…"

"Yamanaka, don't think that way!" Tenten snapped. "Though it may look like a vacation, she'll have to embark on a dangerous journey for who knows how long! It's just plain _un_lucky! She'll be away from her home, her family, and her friends! Plus, she'll be all by herself!"

"Yeah, yeah, but at the very least she could have some _fun_!" Ino said, almost day-dreamingly. "I would give up my _whole wardrobe_ to have that mission!"

"Alright, alright, I get your point, Pig!" Sakura was finally fed up with her friends' separate opinions. She had already agreed to the mission much to Naruto's dismay. She didn't need anything else to help her stray from her path. "Just give me my order of flowers!"

"Oh, right, here you are!" And as Ino handed her the bouquet, she couldn't help but ask, "So who are they _for_?"

"Kakashi-sensei, duh! He's the one in the hospital, remember? He can't see me off tomorrow, so I'm planning on seeing him today."

"Oh, I _knew_ you had a special purpose for choosing them." Ino said, almost proud of herself and her detective work. "Bluebells symbolizes gratitude, daffodils for respect, pansies for being thoughtful, and sweet peas to say sayonara."

"Yep," Sakura smiled. "He _was_ my sensei. I should at least give him _something_ before I leave."

"It's a good idea," Tenten nodded her head. "But did you tell _Lee_ that you're leaving yet?"

"Oh, I _knew_ I was forgetting _something_!" Sakura could hardly believe herself. How could she have forgotten about the guy who had given his undying love for her? "Hey, Ino, you got any flowers to say _'thank you'_?"

"No, but I do got some azaleas. You could thank him for being modest." the blonde suggested.

"It doesn't really matter, Sakura." Tenten said. "Even if you give him a _rock_, he'd still be grateful for it."

The redhead giggled. "Well, I guess you're right about that!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

So, after Lee had thanked her for the flowers by declaring that he'd always love her and _only_ her, Sakura finally made her way to Kakashi's hospital room in which he was reading the book Naruto had given him days before.

"I see you're up and doing fine."

"Ah, Sakura, I've been expecting you." Kakashi said, actually putting down his book. "My, what beautiful flowers! And I take it that they're—"

"For _you_?" Sakura finished his sentence. "Yes. I wanted to thank you for being my teacher and to say good-bye."

"Well, I expected this much since Naruto had come stomping in just an hour ago, sulking about you leaving tomorrow." Kakashi groaned as he sat up straighter. "I'm sorry that I won't be able to see you off tomorrow morning."

"It's okay, sensei. I understand."

The jonin nodded his head. "Sakura, after you leave, you're not just some regular kunoichi or chunin anymore. You'll be a hunter-nin, you understand? The first hunter-nin in Konoha history! Whatever you do, make sure you put on a mask and try to hide your hair or at least put up some kind of disguise and never give your real name. Your enemies will be stronger than _anything_ you've ever faced before, so you can't let them know your identity or else you'll be in danger, understood?"

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei."

"Good but, before you leave, I've got a present for you." And he started making the hand signals for the summoning jutsu.

"Kakashi-sensei, you shouldn't—" But when she saw the puppy-like Akita Inu, she was completely won over. "Aw! She's so _cute_!"

"Yes, her name's Kiki, but apparently that's as big as she'll get. And you'll find that she has a personality similar to Naruto's, so you shouldn't miss him all that much." Kakashi explained, a smile on his face when he saw Sakura's. "She'll stray from you most of the time, but you just need to whistle, and she'll come right back to you. Plus, she's portable. You can keep her in your supplies bag for a secret attack."

"Arigato, sensei! I promise I'll take care of her!"

"Well, actually, I wanted it the other way around…"

"How can a dog take care of _me_?"

"Well, Pakkun is in care of taking care of her, so he just pops up randomly whenever he wants to check up on her."

"Oh, wow, won't that put a dent whenever I'm trying to commence a sneak attack?"

The jonin just shrugged. "Just pray that you have good luck!"

"Kakashi-_sensei_!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

That night, regardless to say, Sakura could _not_ fall asleep. Tomorrow would be her first day as a hunter-nin, after all… The first day she'd start her killing spree… It didn't help her at all that her victims were S-ranked criminals. They were still human, after all… Well, _most_ of them. And she was a medical nin! It was her job to _save_ people, not kill them!

_Oh, god…_ she thought. _How will I bring myself to overcome these feelings? I have to kill them before they kill anymore… But emptying the Bingo Book's impossible! Some of those people aren't even _criminals_! The Elders just want me gone to spite Tsunade. But still . . . god, what _am_ I going to do?_

For a while, she went over her opinions. She could always go back to her memories with Team 7, no? Nah, they would bring her to tears. Then again . . . she could always remember when Naruto and Sasuke were always arguing or she could go even further back to when they were first put into teams when those two kisse—

Oh, god! Wrong picture! _Wrong_ picture! Yeah, maybe that would work…

But then again, she could always enjoy the letters Naruto would send to her. However, there was the fact that she hated reading _his_ handwriting.

God! What was she to do? What _could_ she do?

And it turned out that not even a whole night could give her an answer. Konoha's first hunter-nin… Wow, she had come a long way since her academy days… But had she grown stronger? For that was the question that really ran through her head.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As the sun rose, Sakura made her way to the village gates. It was a quiet walk, nothing much to see since she already knew the village by heart now. She looked into her purse. Kiki was sleeping peacefully. _Well, that makes one of us… At least I won't be alone… I wonder if that was what Kakashi-sensei was really trying to do when he gave her to me… _She glanced up at the sky. _Well, at least, it's a nice day to set out on a journey…_

She stopped in her tracks when she saw the gates. She had only thought her mentor and Shizune would be there to see her off. She hadn't expected _this_! Everyone from Konoha 11…

"Why…? Why are you guys all here?" she asked as she ran up to them.

"Well, Forehead, we all heard about your new puppy dog Kakashi gave you, and we all thought _'If the perverted sensei's giving her something then why not we all pitch in and give her something more useful than just words?_' And so, here we are!"

"Okay… But Ino and you all, you didn't have to—"

"My youthful cherry blossom!" (Guess who?) "You have given us wonderful memories! You _must_ let us give you something in return to remember us by!"

"Yo, Bushy Brows, I think she gets the idea!" Naruto retorted.

"So, Sakura, here… From both Shizune and I." Tsunade said, handing her a smaller version of Katsuya which left Sakura pretty confused.

_A slug? Surely, you can do better than that! I _can_ summon these, you know?_

"Just say the name of who you want to talk to and she'll connect with another version of herself, and you'll be able to talk to that person."

_Oh… I get it now… It's kind of useful… _"Arigato, shisou."

"And now from all of us…" Naruto said, opening his fist to show Sakura a beautiful bracelet; a black gem sat right in its focus. And as he slipped it onto Sakura's, he explained. "Though it doesn't look like much now, it contains all of us's chakra. So if you have any trouble, you can use this extra chakra supply to help you or you could use any one of our jutsu. Or if you can't use your hands, it'll create a barrier around you to protect you and—"

Sakura threw her arms around him before he could continue on with his rambling. "Arigato, Naruto… Thanks for everything." And when she released him, she bowed to everyone there. "Thanks you all… I won't forget you guys, I promise you that much."

"Oh, and one more thing…" Hinata stepped out of the crowd. She handed Sakura a small card. "I . . . I . . . I promise I'll t-take care of Naruto-kun for you! But if you're st-still worried, all you need to do is add . . . add chakra to this, and you'll be able to see wh-what we're doing… Not . . . not only that but, if you want, it can also sh-show you memories…"

"It was Hinata's idea," Shikamaru yawned.

"Took us the whole night to make too," Choji added as he stuffed some chips down his mouth. "It'll show you anything you want to see, you know?"

Sakura could feel tears coming to her eyes. "I don't know what to say… I don't even think I deserve such good friends… What did I do to get you guys to love me so much?"

Naruto shrugged. "It doesn't matter cuz we're all friends here! And we'll be waiting for you to return! Plus, I'll make sure the Teme's here waiting too! Dattebayo!"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle. Glancing at her friends and mentor, she couldn't help but feel proud of herself. Even if she wasn't as strong as she wanted to be, she could always say that she had friends to back her up. That was more than some people had, and that was all she was thankful for…

* * *

**Hai = yes**

**Sayonara = goodbye**

**Bye-bye, Sakura-chan… Oh, god, she's gone… Oh, well, here comes Hinata! I hope you guys liked the chapter! Oh, and by the way, I used the Japanese language of flowers for the flower meanings. Thank you for reading and please enjoy!**


	4. Episode 4

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**Yay! A new chapter! I hope this chapter is better than the rest of my chapters so far. I wouldn't want to disappoint you guys and such. Thank you for the reviews so far, and please enjoy!**

* * *

Episode Four

~His Irritation, Her First Kill, Hinata's Influence~

This was not a good place to be out at night, all alone. Unfortunately for the young girl currently walking through the tradesmen's district, it was the middle of the night—and she was very much alone.

She walked with the slightly mincing step of a noble and carried a delicate folded-up fan. Jeweled rings encrusted her fingers. Her soft indoor tabi slippers were unsuited to running or fighting.

The man in black was glad. Fighting he could handle. But when they ran, that was just annoying. He glanced down at his young prey, checking to make sure that he had identified the target correctly. Yes, there it was: the distinct form of the Wind Daimyo's symbol. This was the Wind Daimyo's girl.

The girl seemed blithely oblivious to the fine gold thread on her clothes and the effect it would likely have on the residents of such an area.

_This job is going to be easier than I imagined,_ the man in black thought.

He leaped, almost casually, to the next rooftop. He landed without a sound and ran, his lithe body crouching low to avoid detection. The next rooftop was too far to reach in one bound, but he simply somersaulted to the ground, rolled, then jumped nimbly to grab the overhanging eave. He let himself hand there for a split second, enjoying the feel of gravity pulling at his body, then flipped onto the tiles.

A cat that had been sleeping there stood up in an exaggerated arch of irritation and was about to hiss when the ninja raised a blowpipe to his lips. He cat collapsed softly and rolled down the sloping roof. Before it could fall of the edge and hit the ground below, the ninja stretched languorously and pinned it corpse to the bark tile with a dagger. For some reason, he could hear the slight barking of a young dog, but he ignored it.

The ninja moved from rooftop to rooftop until he was in front of the girl. He waited for the right moment, his entire body perfectly still. When the girl passed below him, he jumped, absorbing the impact of the ground with a smooth bend of the legs that turned almost instantly into a vicious kick to the girl's face.

The girl staggered back, and the ninja grinned, pressing his advantage with a flurry of kicks before reaching for his short-sword.

As the ninja's hand moved to his belt, he lowered his eyes for a fraction of a second, and it was then that something smash into his face, crushing his nose and sending a tsunami of pain and nausea through his body. Through blurred vision, he saw the girl pull back her hand and realized the fan was not a fan at all—it was a heavy metal bar disguised as an everyday object, a classic ninja trick.

_But how…?_

The girl struck again with the bar, and the ninja easily blocked, feeling a new surge of confidence as he finally managed to free his sword and swing it in a n upward arc, calculated to shatter the jaw and cut the arteries in the neck and—

The girl somehow turned out of the sword's path, bringing the fan-turned-club down on the ninja's wrist. The man felt his wrist shatter and the sword drop to the ground just as a fistful of sharp jewels destroyed his left eye.

Not rings but a knuckle-duster.

His legs gave way, and he sank to the ground. But it wasn't over. It was _never_ over. He would heal, in time. Not his eye of course, but the rest…

Then the girl stood over him and drew a kunai from her kimono, the blade so sharp it shimmered as if surrounded by heat. She whirled it around her fingers expertly, strands of her rosette hair danced in the wind.

And then the Oto-nin knew that it was over.

"Tell Orochimaru that if he continues to send me assassins, I will continue to send him corpses," she said. "Let him set his whole arsenal of ninja against me, and I will _kill_ his army. And tell him if he wants to kill me then he better send the Uchiha next time, not some weakling of an ordinary ninja. That boy owes me a death." _And a damn good explanation…_

The ninja looked up at her, faint hope in his one working eye. "You're allowing me to _live_?"

". . . Ah… My mistake."

The ninja tried to smile.

Then she struck, hard and true, at his heart. "I'll just have to tell Orochimaru myself." The rosette-haired kunoichi looked down at the corpse of the first man she had ever killed by herself. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Yes, this was not a good place to be out at night, all alone. Especially if you were a ninja.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

It had been at least a week since Sakura had left, and Naruto had made some shocking realizations during those seven days. First, he noticed how different Hinata and Sakura were. Sakura had been fiery, spoke out more, and was easily angered. Hinata, though . . . she was quieter, and she didn't seem to mind his antics. That was something he learned to like, though sometimes he would secretly miss the punches Sakura used to throw his way.

Secondly, Hinata had improved since the last time he had saw her. Not only did he find it hard to find a weak spot in her jutsu, but it was also hard to just dodge them. She had also gotten quicker in the years that had come. Plus, her chakra control was just as good as Sakura's. And as such, Tsunade had started to train her in medical jutsu in which she had excelled in. Third, she actually enjoyed going to eat ramen with him. Unlike Sakura who had worried about her bank account, Hinata was actually the one to offer to help him pay his ramen debts much to the knucklehead's surprise. And she didn't make him use table manners whenever he ate, also unlike Sakura.

Speaking of the cherry blossom, the other things Naruto had learned was that Sakura was actually very much worried for his well-being. In every one of her letters, she had expressed her worry more than giving him a new ramen flavor to try. Of course, he'd write back to her and say that he was just fine, but she'd write back and say that she'd had seen him fall into a ditch or even dump his head against a pole (with that present Hinata had given her)! Then Naruto would always have to write back some sort of excuse of those accidents of his. Hinata would offer to be the excuse, but Sakura's letters still came back with their usual amount of worry in them especially since he needed to find a jonin and another teammate to accompany him to Tenchi Bridge in the days to come.

Up until then, Naruto had forgotten about needing a team. He had thought just Hinata was enough. She seemed strong enough, and she wouldn't let anything hurt him. However, when Sakura read that in his letters, Naruto could see the anger and annoyance in her words in her letter that came afterwards. She even gave him a time limit! If he couldn't find at least _one_ new member to join his team by the end of the month, she'd write to Tsunade to have him pulled off of the mission.

Naruto knew she wouldn't do that, but the threat was just enough. He immediately started searching for a teammate, but no luck came his way. Most of Konoha 11 were already on missions of their own, and some of them actually had their own appointments to attend to. The jonin, on the other hand, were either busy with the chunin exams or they were patrolling the borders for the Akatsuki. The next couple of weeks didn't do him any good either, though Hinata had treated him to much more ramen than ever before since he was so down. But he wasn't down just because he couldn't find a teammate; Sakura had told him that she was going to be a bit too busy to write to him for the next few days, and so he didn't have her letters to look forward to anymore.

He spent more time with the Hyuga heiress during that time. From morning 'til lunch, it was non-stop training. Then they shared a lunch Hinata herself had made. At first, Naruto had missed Sakura's cooking from when they were in their genin team, but Hinata's cooking had a more appealing taste to it, and so his longing desire for Sakura's cooking had slowly disappeared. However, he still did not like the fact that Hinata had put more and more vegetables in her cooking (as was what Sakura had asked once in a letter to the Hyuga). For some reason, he couldn't help but think that Sakura was actually trying to _torture_ him even if she wasn't in the village!

But after he'd stuff himself with Hinata's cooking, they'd go on a little walk, and sometimes they even helped some of the pedestrians whenever they needed help. And when they were commented on how nice they looked as a couple, Hinata would turn a bright shade of red that Naruto was now used to seeing while he would deny the fact. Dinner would soon come and was, of course, at Ichiraku's. Then afterwards, they'd train a little more at night to help improve their senses in the dark.

However, once Sakura's letters came again, Naruto slowly grew more depressed as he was unable to find anyone to join the team. Even with Sakura's words of encouragement and Hinata buying him ramen, Naruto was unable to cheer up.

Days quickly turned into another week. Then another week added up into another couple of weeks. By now, he only had three more weeks until the mission, and he still hadn't made any progress with finding a teammate. But luckily for him, during the middle of that fifth week, he was able to catch up to Shikamaru who had been oh-so busy with the chunin exams. However, Shikamaru's answer was the same as everyone else's.

"Like I said, it's troublesome, but I have to sort stuff out for the exams." he had said. "I know we have a sort of friendship thing, and I'd like to help you out and all, but there's just no way I can do what I want either. It's the Hokage… You'd think I get _enough_ nagging from her…" He shook his head in annoyance.

"In that case, I'll give you a hand." Those words were like music to Naruto's ears as ramen was to his mouth.

"Alright! Thanks, Choji!" Naruto could have bowed to the chubby man. He had just got him his ticket out of the village!

"Choji, are you sure you can say that so easily?" Shikamaru asked. "Don't you have a _mission_ with Asuma-sensei and Ino?"

"Come on, we can't just ignore Naruto's request," Choji said. "I'll try to talk to Asuma-sensei about it."

"Thanks a lot, Choji!" Naruto yelled, giving the guy a thumbs-up.

"But even if you ask Asuma-sensei about it, he'll still say no." Shikamaru explained. "He has Lady Tsunade standing over him, after all…"

Naruto chuckled as Choji reached into his potato chip bag. "Still always eating… You're an even bigger fat-ass than you were before!"

In a small second, Choji's fist was flying straight for Naruto's face. Thankfully, Shikamaru tackled Naruto to the ground before the idiot got a black eye. But in reality, Choji's real target had been this . . . this _thing_ that looked like one of those lions that were in old Japanese paintings. When Choji's fist smashed into it, the lion exploded into drops of . . . _paint_?

Shikamaru let out a sigh but, when he looked up, there was another one. But that lion met the same fate as the first one did when Choji's hand expanded and crushed it.

Shikamaru's eyes raced through the surrounding area, trying to find the attacker. "Over there…" He pointed to this stranger on some rooftop.

"He's wearing a Konoha headband," Naruto said, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the stranger. "But I've never seen him before!"

"I have no idea what he's doing, but that guy needs to be captured!" Shikamaru said. "And handed over to the interrogation squad!"

Suddenly, that guy took out another scroll and started drawing.

"Naruto, go!" Shikamaru knew they had to act quickly. "I'll cover for you!"

And Naruto charged at the guy.

The stranger made a hand sign. "Ninja Art: Super Beasts Scroll!" And this time, not just two lions came out of his scroll but a total of six appeared, shocking Naruto enough that the knucklehead stopped in his tracks.

As the lions came at him, Naruto quickly made the hand signs for the shadow clone jutsu, but Shikamaru had already finished his jutsu.

"Naruto, get down!" he said as his shadow raced towards the lions, splitting into six separate threads. They pulled themselves out of the ground, and they each stabbed a lion through the place where the heart was supposed to be.

Then once that was over, Naruto charged again at the stranger, a kunai in his hand. But the stranger saw this and took out his short sword and blocked Naruto's attack.

"Who the Hell are you?" Naruto's question came out in a snarl.

"You're fairly weak…" the stranger said with a smile. "So . . . what do you have in between your legs?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"_Unacceptable_!" Tsunade slammed her fist down on the table.

"Tsunade, Naruto is no ordinary child." the male Elder, Homura, said. "He is a jinchūriki! Normally, we should not allow him to leave the village and keep him under constant supervision. I assure you, we are truly making concessions."

"I am in favor of a four-man team, but such restrictions should not be placed on Naruto!" Tsunade argued. "Even if Naruto remains in Konoha, the Akatsuki will pursue him. Just like what had occurred in Suna. If that were to happen, Konoha will also be placed in danger. If Naruto is on the move, they will be more hard-pressed trying to find him. Naruto has always had a special ability. He will grow to become a great power for Konoha."

"You are being flippant, Tsunade." Koharu, the female Elder, spoke. "Speak like a Hokage."

Tsunade slammed her hand down on the table again. "I am _also_ making concessions here!"

"Then can you truly guarantee that Naruto will _not_ be taken by the Akatsuki?" Homura asked. "If the Akatsuki manage to take the Kyuubi from him, they will become an even greater threat to Konoha! Can you guarantee that this will not happen?"

"Naruto will _not_ be taken!" Tsunade answered firmly. "I believe in that!"

"And if that belief is mistaken," Koharu asked, "what will you do?"

"If that places Konoha and the Fire Country in danger, I will put my life on the line to save it!" Tsunade answered. "As Godaime Hokage!"

Homura let out an exasperated sigh. "Understood… Do what you want if you are _that_ convinced… However, we will choose a member to add to that four-man squad."

"Fine."

"Danzo," Koharu called out to the person in the hall, "You may come in."

And when the old man came in, Tsunade couldn't help but glare at him.

"Omae wa…!"

"It's been a while, Tsunade-hime." the man said.

"If you're here then that means the new member is from the Root division of the ANBU…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I said, _'WHO ARE YOU_?'" Naruto yelled. This time, he was able to throw the stranger off guard, making him lose his balance.

"We'll meet again, Naruto-kun." the stranger said, jumping into the air. He made a hand signal.

"Wait!"

But it was too late. The stranger had disappeared!

"What was that?" Shikamaru asked.

But before they could get an answer, Ino came looking for Choji. "There you are! For crying out loud! Asuma-sensei's angry that you still haven't shown up!"

"Sorry, Ino." Choji apologized. "Some weird guy just started attack us."

"_Weird guy_?" Ino asked, squinting her eyes, trying to find that person. "Hey, is that _Naruto_? What the Hell was he doing _attacking_ you?"

"_Anoo_… The weird guy's not Naruto…" Choji said.

"It's fine now, Choji." Shikamaru said, massaging his temple. "Damn, this is troublesome…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Since Hatake Kakashi will still be recuperating during his team's next mission, another member is needed." Shizune explained to the Elders, much to her dismay. "And there is not much time before the mission."

"Well then," Danzo said, "a leader should be elected from the elite ANBU under the Hokage's control."

"Indeed, that should be fine," Koharu nodded her head. "I'm sure, Tsunade, that you don't have any objections, no?"

"Fine…" _First, they take Sakura from me; now, they want to control Naruto, too? This is a bit too much…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"And that's how it is," Tsunade explained to the ANBU in front of her. "You will take Kakashi's place in this mission."

"To take Kakashi-sempai's place, that is indeed an honor." the ANBU said.

"This is not an ANBU mission. It is a regular mission." Tsunade explained. "You will remove your mask and be assigned a code-name. For the duration of this mission, you will take on the name of _'Yamato_,' understood?"

"I understand," the ANBU said, taking of his mask.

"There is one more person, however." Tsunade started, "One of the members of the ANBU training department Root has been assigned to Team Kakashi. I want you to keep an eye on his movements."

"What do you mean?"

"The new member is one that Danzo recommended," Tsunade explained. "Danzo is a man who had previously opposed the Third Hokage, emphasizing the use of military power over diplomacy. He created a separate division in the ANBU, the training division Root, with himself as leader. You must have heard of it. The group has disbanded, and he lost his position, but he still hasn't changed. He must have some ulterior motive."

"Are you sure you're not over-thinking this?"

"Yes… He did, after all, send my apprentice on a suicide mission." She clenched her fists, and her knuckles turned white. _I won't forgive him… That bastard!_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Hiya!" the stranger waved to the knucklehead, almost as if he had forgotten the fact that he had been attacking said blonde.

"Omae wa…!" Naruto was ready to punch the guy's lights out, much to Hinata's confusion.

"_Anoo_… From now on, I'll be taking Kakshi's place as leader." Yamato explained, trying to lighten up the mood. But it would appear that Naruto was focused on glaring a hole through the stranger's head.

"Anoo . . . Na-Naruto-kun, do you know this person?" Hinata asked.

"Sorry about that before," the stranger said, that smile still plastered onto his face. "I just wanted to gauge the ability of my new teammate. I just didn't know how much I had to look after the little prick with no balls."

"_What_ did you say?" Naruto would've thrown a rasengan at the guy's face if Hinata wasn't blocking his way.

"C-calm down, Naruto-kun!" the Hyuga pleaded. "He's . . . he's to be our teammate, after all…"—she turned to the guy—"But . . . you're not that nice," she said.

He laughed. "Oh, really? I like people like you, busty stuttering freak."

"YOU _WHAT_?"

For some reason, Naruto was even harder to restrain now.

"HOW _DARE_ YOU SAY THAT TO HINATA-CHAN?"

Now, it took _both_ Hinata and Yamato to hold the jinchuriki back. Oh, how would the team survive a _day_ togetyer?

✿｡.:***Once everyone calmed down***:.｡✿

"Anyway," Yamato started, "the four of us are going off on a mission. But looking at you all, I'd rather throw you all in a cage but, since there's no time to do that, introduce yourselves."

"Uzumaki Naruto…" He glared at the stranger.

"Hyu . . . Hyuga Hinata…" She worried about her teammates' well-being.

"Sai." He just smiled throughout everything.

"Well, now that we know each other, that's the end of that. I'll explain our mission." Yamato said. "From here, the four of us will proceed to Tenchi Bridge. There, we will intercept the spy Akatsuki has in Orochimaru's organization and bring them back. This is a chance for us to find out about Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke. We can gain a valuable source of information which may lead to formulating a plan to assasinate Orochimaru and take Sasuke back, so keep focused! We will assemble at the front gate in one hour! After sorting our equipment, we will depart!"

* * *

**Godaime Hokage = Fifth Hokage**

**Hime = princess**

**Omae wa = you are (to a guy; it's almost a ruder way of addressing someone)**

**Sempai/senpai = [used to address or refer to one's senior colleagues in a school, company, sports club, or any other group]**

**Yay, I'm finished with this chapter! Thank you for reading it! Oh, and before I forget, that beginning part is based on the prologue to Nick Lake's _Blood Ninja_. If you're into vampires and ninjas, you should check it out.**

**But anyway, thank you and please review! Oh, and give me some ideas of what you want to see!**


	5. Episode 5

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**Alright, another chapter! I am on a roll here! I'm thinking this might be my new favorite fanfic to work on! I don't have to come up with all of the ideas, and I can change whatever I want! Yay! Please enjoy!**

* * *

Episode Five

~His New Teammates, Her Resolve, Hinata's Fake Smile~

"I really just can't _stand_ that asshole!" Naruto screamed. "He pisses me off so much! I could just kill him with my rasengan, right here and now! Why is _he_ taking Sasuke's place of all people? Three people is enough for Team Kakashi…"

Hinata just giggled. "Well, he's . . . he's definitely very vulgar, but . . . don't you think he resembles Sasuke-kun somewhat?"

"Hmp!" Naruto shook his head furiously. "Nope, Sasuke's cooler!" But when he realized what he had just said, he took it back. "I mean, he's just better!"

"You're . . . you're right, Naruto-kun." Hinata said. "Sasuke-kun is somewhat cooler than Sai-san…"

"Eh? What do you mean by _'somewhat_,' Hinata-chan? The Teme's _way_ better!"

And that comment just left Hinata giggling.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"It's already _that_ bad?" Tsunade asked. She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Well, there's no way around it… Anyway, just try to keep Naruto under control."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

But Tsunade knew the face the girl wore. "What is it, Hinata?"

"Oh, it's . . . it's nothing… I just . . . just—"

The Godaime raised an eyebrow.

The Hyuga sighed. "If Sakura-san were here, I think she'd do a better job than I could ever do… She knows Naruto-kun better than I do, and . . . and—"

"And she chose _you_ to replace her, Hinata." Tsunade said. "Sakura wouldn't have done so if she didn't believe you could do a good job. Yes, she knows Naruto better than most people do, but that's because she had spent more time with him than any other. The reason why she had you switch teams, _weeks_ before the actual mission, was so that you could learn more about him. With him being Naruto, some things are pretty obvious, but others aren't so easily spotted. Just give it some time, Hinata. Things _will_ get better."

At this, the Hyuga heiress smiled. She was doing a good job—that was a good thing. At least, she knew she wasn't letting anyone down. Plus, both Sakura and Tsunade believed in her. She just needed to keep going…

_Knock_! _Knock_!

"Enter!"

And an old man came in.

_Who could that be?_ Hinata knew she hadn't seen him before. Was he a foreigner? But when she saw Tsunade's face, she knew the man was not welcomed.

"Danzo…" Tsunade tried to keep the displeasure from her face. "What is it?"

"You have assigned an elite ANBU to be the leader of Sai's team, I trust?"

"I chose a person who has stood out since the Third was in office," Tsunade explained.

"Excellent…" Danzo had a wicked smile on his face. Just exactly what was he planning? "But I hope he hasn't taken the Third's teachings to heart. That old man was always afraid of getting into disputes and making decisions… Like how your grandfather taught him, hm?"

Hinata was more than appalled. How could he say such a thing? And right in front of the Hokage herself?

"Anyway, now I'm satisfied…" He turned to leave. "I can go and eat now. Good-bye."

"Wh-who was that?" Hinata asked, once she knew the man was gone.

"He competed for the chair of Hokage with the Third, but he's very different from the Third." Tsunade answered. "He's an overly serious, militaristic, logical thinking leader and Sai's superior. Since I'm the student of the Third and the granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage, he hates me." She sighed, massaging her temple. "Well, it's time, Hinata."

"Hai!" She bowed to the Hokage. "I'll be leaving then."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Even since the four-man team had left Konoha, it was all just . . . _silence_. Now that was weird. Naruto was _never_ silent. He would always be rambling about something. _Always_. But now he was just . . . just glaring at that guy, Sai… Oh, how he _hated_ that guy Sai! (A/N: Oh, god, I sound like Dr. Suess!) Why couldn't he just fall into a ditch and just stay there for all of eternity? Or, or he could just jump off a cliff and just be done with!

_Yeah, yeah, that could work… I could make it look like an accident! Mwa-ha-ha! _Naruto thought, a grin coming to his face. _Now all I need to do is find a cliff… A nice, tall one would do. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to have sharp, jagged rocks at the bottom. Hee-hee…_

Now, Sai, yeah, he had noticed Naruto looking at him strangely. But that smile was just plain _creepy_! "What is it?" he asked.

Naruto didn't answer, just frowned. _Well, I guess they are alike…_ he thought. _That arrogant tone in his voice…_

"Please stop staring at me," Sai said. "Don't make me hit you."

"EVERY DAMN THING THAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH JUST PISSES ME OFF!" Naruto yelled, shaking his fist in front of Sai's face. _As I thought, he's _nothing_ like Sasuke-teme!_

"I don't have malice towards you."

"_LIAR_!"

"I'm just trying to put on that kind of attitude."

"Aha! So you _do_ have malice!" Naruto said. "Why the Hell are you here? All you do is just piss people off!"

"Hey, now, don't say something like that in front of your captain, Naruto." Yamato scolded. "Teamwork and cooperation are the most important things in a team. I thought Kakashi-sempai had already taught you that."

"He did!"

"Then what's the problem?"

"It's because"—he pointed at Sai—"_he's_ not a member of Team Kakashi! The other member of the team is Sasuke! This guy is just taking Sasuke's place, someone chosen to fill the gap! I'll _never_ consider someone like him as a member of this team!"

Shockingly, Sai smiled at this. "Well, I'm glad you think of me that way. I wouldn't want to be compared to that weak shit-for-brains Orochimaru's clone who only cared for power and ran off to that snake and betrayed Konoha."

"You _bastard_…!" Naruto was ready to punch him, but Hinata held out a hand to stop him.

"Truly," she said, "th-the most important thing is teamwork. Sai, since Naruto-kun doesn't know you all th-that well, he just . . . just said too much. I'm sorry… Please forgive him."

"Hinata-chan…" Naruto was now ashamed of himself. The Hyuga heiress had just swallowed her pride to apologize on _his_ behalf! How could he be so reckless?

"I'm glad at least _one_ of you is reasonable," Yamato said, grateful to the heavens.

"Think nothing of it," Sai replied, that smile still painted on his face.

"Well, that's good." Hinata smiled. Then suddenly . . . she released the gentle fist on him, much to everyone's dismay. "However, you don't have to forgive _me_," she said without stuttering—a fierce fire burning in her eyes.

"Hmp," Sai wiped the blood off of his face. "You completely fooled me . . . with that fake smile of yours…"

"Since you don't know anything about Sasuke-kun, don't talk about things that you don't understand!" Hinata said. "If you bad-mouth him one more time, I won't hold back on Sakura-san's behalf!"

"Fine," Sai stood up. "I won't say anything in front of _you_… But the fact that you can use a fake smile like that, I'll remember it."

"You've just been _hit_!" Naruto yelled. "Why are you acting so cheerfully?"

"A smile's the best way to get out of trouble even if it _is_ fake," Sai answered. "Amazingly, it fools everyone… I read that in a book somewhere before, but"—he dusted himself—"it doesn't look like it works here."

Now, Naruto was just getting more and more pissed off. Would this guy _continue_ to say these weird things?

"Wood Style: Four Pillar Prison Jutsu!" And suddenly, this wooden penitentiary popped out of the ground behind Yamato. "If you guys don't stop arguing, I won't hesitate to toss you in a cage," he said calmly. "I said we don't have time before we go to Tenchi Bridge, but there's still at least two weeks. As the mediator here, here's my proposition. You can spend a day or so in the cage to work out your differences or we can go to a hotel that has hot springs. What will it be?"

And suddenly, he looked like a monster from a horror movie that had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed. "You guys don't know me well. However, I like being nice and friendly, but I don't have any problems with ruling by fear either…"

Yikes… Could you spell awkward much?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Naruto kept the bottom half of his face submerged in the water. He sat right in between that asshole Sai and his . . . _err_, wonderful team leader.

"Ah, for guys, being together naked really makes us feel like companions!" Yamato laughed, but then he threw out his serious face again. "Don't you agree, Naruto?"

"Y-yes, yeah, of course!" Naruto almost jumped. _His eyes are really terrifying! He really is ruling by fear!_

"Well, well," Sai said, "so you really do have one."

Naruto could fear himself turn red with both anger and . . . well, more anger. "DON'T GO LOOKING! WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS GOING ON ABOUT PENISES ANYWAY?"

Naruto's screams were so loud that even the girls in the female hot springs could hear.

Hinata could feel herself redden with embarrassment as everyone else started laughing. _Na-Naruto-kun, I'd appreciate it . . . if you were a _bit_ quieter…_

But when Naruto heard all the laughter, a dirty little thought popped into his mind as quickly as he could eat ramen. He began to edge towards the wall that stood in between the two hot springs. He was so close! He just needed to—

"Well, I'm done for now." Yamato said as he stood out of the water. "But first, Naruto, there's something interesting I want to tell you."

"What is it?" Naruto was more curious than Alice was when she saw the white rabbit.

"When Jiraiya-sama was young, he came very close to dying once…" Yamato explained. "Six of his ribs and both of his arms were broken, and many of his internal organs were ruptured… It seemed that the cause was Tsunade-sama's inhuman strength. What he did was _exactly_ what you're doing right now… If Hinata-san were to tell Sakura-san—"

Naruto was now scared for life.

"—what do you think she would do?"

And suddenly, Naruto was right in the middle of the hot springs, trying to play innocent. Oh, boy… Would he ever learn?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

That night, dinner went pretty well compared to what had happened before when the team was leaving Konoha and during their time in the hot springs. Naruto was chowing down everything he could get his grubby little hands on, Hinata was trying to get him to slow down (and managed to do so when she threatened to tell Sakura), and Sai said more things to piss Naruto off but, with Yamato there, Naruto didn't dare to start a fight.

"So, Dickless…" Sai said. Everything else he said went unheard when Naruto yelled.

"_WHAT_ DID YOU CALL ME?" He was just about ready to pounce the guy.

"_Ahem_…" Yamato cleared his throat.

Naruto quickly sat down, mumbling something about killing Sai in his sleep or something close to that. He picked up his chopsticks and started to eat again.

_Poof_!

When the tiny version of Katsuya appeared, she knew right away she had come at the wrong time. Why? Well, there only _one_ reason. When she appeared, she was met with the sight of the scarring picture of Naruto's opened mouth while she was on his chopsticks.

"_Kyaa_!"

"_Huh_? Katsuya? What are you doing on my chopsticks?"

"Na-Naruto-kun, stop shaking them! You're . . . you're scaring her!"

✿｡.:***Minutes later***:.｡✿

"So, Katsuya," Naruto started once everything had calmed down. "What are you doing here?"

"He's talking to a _slug_?" Sai asked Hinata in a whisper, the two watching from outside Naruto's room.

"Sh-she's not some ordinary slug, Sai…" she explained. "She's one of Tsunade's summonings."

"Oh," was Sai's blunt reply as they returned to watching Naruto and the slug.

"I've come with Sakura's letter," the slug answered. She opened her mouth, and the letter shot right out. "She told me to tell you that she's sorry she hasn't written to you. Something had come up."

"Thanks…" Naruto unrolled the scroll and started reading.

_Hey, Naruto, _it started_, how have you been doing so far? And before you start writing your letter, I'm just going to say that I've been perfectly fine. Something came up, and . . . well, you wouldn't believe it even if I told you what happened. I'll explain it when I come back, so don't ask about it, 'kay?_

Naruto made a note in his head to ask about it whenever he'd see her.

_So . . . I trust that you've gotten the new members for the team already, right? Who are they and what are they like? Are you getting along? Are you having fun? Do they enjoy ramen as much as you do? You're not letting them bully Hinata-chan, are you? Cuz, if you are, I'll punch you into next month whenever I see you again, got that?_

Naruto shuddered at the thought. For some unknown reason, Sakura's threats were a bit scarier when they were on paper…

_But anyway, I didn't find any new ramen flavors in this village I'm in right now. (I can't tell you where I am. Tsunade and Jiraiya's rules… Sorry.) There's no good souvenirs here either. It's really dull here, and I'm actually very bored. There's really nothing to do! I've completely lost my way to my great-aunt's home. Apparently, my great-aunt likes to move a lot, so now I've got to hide out here while Jiraiya-san gets her new address but, knowing him, it'll take forever! She might live right next door or just down the street, and I wouldn't know for maybe a month! God, I swear I'll kill him if this storm doesn't._

Naruto laughed at this, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for his teammate. He had been on a two-year training program with the old perv and, for long periods of time, the guy just goofed off. He had a feeling that Sakura wasn't going to be getting anywhere soon, and Jiraiya would come close to dying by _her_ hand rather than Tsunade's this time.

He didn't feel bad for the old man, though. Jiraiya needed a wake-up call to keep him from straying from his job.

_God, I miss you… Kiki here just keeps reminding me of you, you know? She barks every minute of the day! I can't get her to stop! And then, during her meals, she reminds me of Ino-pig. She only wants the best of foods—it's really crazy, Naruto. And then there are those rare times when she's quiet and shy like Hinata… Oh, and you won't believe this: when I was fighting these bandits, she went all Tenten-like and grabbed my shuriken with her mouth and started throwing them like there was no tomorrow! It was so weird! But really, Naruto, I really am homesick… It's lonely here… I really do want to come home and even have ramen at Ichiraku's…_

At these words, Naruto's mood went down by ninety percent. He missed her, too, and God only knows how much everyone else did.

_Oh, I gotta go! I'll write to you tomorrow! Love, your favorite cherry blossom~_

But Naruto didn't want the letter to end. He wanted to know more about how she was doing, if she was alright or not. He was worried about her even if she was just visiting her family members… She had never been off on her own before… Just what troubles were she facing?

Hinata watched on with sad eyes of her own. She had known she couldn't compete with Sakura. She just didn't know how much of a status the cherry blossom had held in Naruto's heart. She was starting to think that the possibility of Naruto ever seeing her as someone other than Sakura's replacement was never going to happen. Sakura had too big of a spot in the ramen-loving ninja's heart. That was the one thing that would never change…

And so, she left to try to lull herself to sleep while Naruto started writing his letter.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

_Hiya, Sakura-chan! I'm doing just fine despite the fact that the new team leader Yamiko (I think that's how you spell his name)—_

Sakura shook her head at the numerous blackouts before the name Yamiko. It would appear that Naruto's name spelling hadn't gotten any better—

_—has a creepy face that's freakin' scary and the new asshole—_

—nor did he lose the vulgar vocabulary…

_—Sai just says things that pisses people off! Do you even know what he said to Hinata-chan? He called her a "_busty stuttering freak_!"_

Sakura could hardly believe that. _How _dare_ that asshole call sweet, gentle Hinata that? Naruto, you _better_ have rasengan-ed him!_

Kiki, who was on her lap and also reading over the letter, seemed to have been in agreement with her.

_I tried to go rasengan on him, but both Yamato (the asshole actually told me something useful and helped me spell the guy's name) and Hinata-chan held me back! I'm sorry, Sakura-chan! I really did try to kill him for that! But then, afterwards, Hinata told me that the asshole was kinda like Sasuke in a few ways, but I'll tell you this much: the guy's nothing like the Teme! He's much more worser than the Teme!_

Sakura rolled her eyes. _I highly doubt that now…_

_Teme was much more cool—I mean, better! Also, also, the asshole—_

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. _Naruto, if you keep calling him an asshole, you'll _never_ learn to like him…_

_—called Sasuke-teme a "_weak shit-for-brains Orochimaru's clone who only cared for power and ran off to that snake and betrayed Konoha_!" Can you believe him?_

Sakura thought about it for a moment. _Well, the new guy was right in that Sasuke _did_ betray the village, and he certainly got the shit-for-brains part and only-cared-for-power part right… But a weak Orochimaru's clone, he is definitely _not_!_

_But don't worry, Sakura-chan! Even though I couldn't do anything about it, Hinata gave the asshole a run for his money! She went Byakugan on him and knocked him to the floor with just one attack! It served the asshole right!_

Sakura smiled. _Alright, Hinata! Didn't know she had it in her…_

_But Sakura, I think you should've been here instead! You could have thrown the asshole right out of this world! I would rather have preferred that then spending any more time with—_

Suddenly, Kiki started barking, and Sakura heard the door knob turn. She quickly turned off the lamp and stood from her seat. But before she could find a hiding spot for the letter, one of her captors—though _better_ than the other two, she hated the fact that she was stuck with _him_ of all people—came into the room.

Thinking quickly, Kiki took the letter our of Sakura's hand, grabbing it with her mouth, and ran under the bed.

"What are you doing back?" The kunoichi's question almost came out as a snarl. "I thought you were on a mission, and—"

"Finished it…"

Sakura's hands rolled into fists. She couldn't _stand_ his arrogant tone. "When are you letting me go?" she asked—no, _demanded_ was a much better word. "I already told you: I came just for a vacation, not as a kunoichi—"

"And you expect me to believe that when they told me you were Konoha's hunter-nin or when they showed me the Bingo Book you carried?" the man asked.

And she hated the fact that he wouldn't let her finish most of her sentences.

"You had crossed out five of those S-ranked criminals and one A-ranked," he continued.

"I already _told_ you," Sakura retorted, tired of repeating her lies. "The book _wasn't_ mine. It's probably Jiraiya's. Tsunade makes him check up on me from time to time. He must have accidently misplaced it and put it in my bag by mistake!"

The man didn't say anymore. He went to the bed and pulled the dog from underneath it. He took the letter from Kiki and dropped her on the bed.

"What are you doing?" Sakura could hardly believe this. "That's _mine_! Don't go looking through my stuff!"

She tried to punch him, but he grabbed her arm and twisted it so hard that she fell to the floor.

"A letter from Naruto…?" he asked.

And even though Sakura didn't look up at his face, she knew his bloodline had activated. The anger in his voice was enough of a hint.

"I didn't tell him about where I was or what happened, okay?" she said, keeping her eyes away from the man's face, as she stood. "I just wrote to him what I usually wrote! He'll get suspicious if I didn't! Do you _want_ him to come looking for me?"

"Hn…" He threw the letter in the air, and the dog caught it, glaring at him.

He ignored the pup and placed his hand under Sakura's chin, lifting her face so that her eyes met his. "Don't forget," he said. "I _can_ make you tell me the truth either through torture or just plain brainwashing. If you continue to go against my orders, I will not hesitate to do what I need to!"

Though scared, Sakura continued to glare at him. And then, he left.

Frustrated, the kunoichi punched the wall. If she had _all_ of her chakra, she would've made the whole structure fall. That might have made her feel better. But she _didn't _have all of her chakra now, so she couldn't do much anyway. She threw herself onto the bed, but she couldn't forget the bastard. His scent was all over the bed because, well, after all, it was _his_ room she was stuck in.

She could feel the tears in her eyes. _If the Elders hadn't given me this mission, I wouldn't be stuck in this mess! _And in that small second, she decided she _hated_ those old cronies and that she despised the fact that she was being held captive by the Uchiha bastard…

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

The next day, when Hinata had woken up, she wasn't all that happy. Of course, she wouldn't be. After all, she had realized Naruto could never love her the way she did just the other night. How could she even smile?

At that moment, she spotted Sai outside, painting something. She wondered what. She really did want to forget about her realization, so what better than the asshole who pissed everyone off?

Once she had gotten dressed, she walked over and asked what he was doing. He answered her question nicely, though questioning her whether or not she'd hit him again with her Byakugan to which she laughed.

"So . . . wh-what's the painting's title?" she asked him.

"Who knows?" he shrugged.

"You . . . you haven't decided yet?"

"It just doesn't have one…" Sai explained. "I've drawn tens of thousands of pictures in my life, but I've never given any one of them a title."

"But still . . ." Hinata said, "you're usually supposed to . . . to give a painting a title, right? F-f-for example, if it's a portrait then it's that person's name… Or even with other pictures, the title might be circumstances at the time or maybe your state of mind or your emotions…"

Sai nodded his head at the Hyuga's advice. "I understand what you're saying, but it's not that I don't give them titles… It's that I can't."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Not one things comes to me," Sai said. "I just don't . . . _feel_ anything."

"Well, that sure explains why almost everything you say is so insensible!"

The two turned around.

"Na-Naruto-kun!" Hinata almost blushed. Well, so much for forgetting about the other night…

"We're about ready to head out," the knucklehead said, walking over to his teammates. "Yamato-taichou told me to come get you." He glanced at Sai's picture. "Eh, it's nothing special."

"Indeed," Sai replied. "Just like your penis."

Hinata covered her ears. She was Hyuga _heiress_, damn it! She was not _supposed_ to hear this crap!

"That's _it_!" Naruto yelled. "I'm going to be straight-forward and completely honest! I ABSOLUTELY _HATE_ YOU! IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME THEN QUIT IT WITH THAT FAKE SMILE OF YOURS AND START BEING STRAIGHT-FORWARD AND HONEST YOURSELF! IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT, I'LL TAKE YOU ON ANYTIME!"

". . . You don't understand," Sai said. "I just don't think _anything_ of you, one way or the other…" And then he started to pick up his supplies. "Go on ahead," he said. "I'll follow as soon as I've cleaned things up here."

"Here, let me help…" Hinata offered, picking up some book. "_Oh_? This . . . this isn't printed, is it? Did you . . . did you draw this, too?"

"Yeah," Sai answered as the kunoichi handed it to him.

"Oh, r-really?" Hinata asked, amazed by his skills. "A picture book, huh? That's . . . that's really something…"

Meanwhile, Naruto sulked. For some reason, he so did _not_ like the fact that Hinata was even _talking_ to that asshole, let alone praising him. That should be _him_!

"Can . . . can you show it to me along the way s-sometime?" Hinata asked.

"Sorry, but this book isn't finished." Sai explained. "Also, I make a point of not letting other people touch it because it's my older brother's."

_Oh, great… _Naruto could hardly believe it. _Don't tell me he's got a sob story like the Teme!_

* * *

**Shodai Hokage = First Hokage**

**Taichou = team captain; leader**

**Whew! Me is finished with this chapter! Yay! Please tell me how you like it so far cuz I'm getting kinda . . . I don't, a weird feeling about how I typed it up… I hoped you enjoyed it and please review!**


	6. Episode 6

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**Yippee, another chapter! Oh, and for those who think Hinata's not really making any difference right now, I do actually have something planned. It's just that, with Sai, I think things should go more along the lines of the manga/anime, you know? Afterwards, it'll be different. But you'll be seeing some major differences because of Sakura, okay? There's a bit more comedy in this chapter, just a small section though since the NaruHina parts shall be serious in this chapter since the fight at the bridge is coming up and all. But I'm just going to warn you, I am horrible at writing up battle scenes! I can't really make it as great as the original manga can, so I really hope I don't disappoint you guys…**

* * *

Episode Six

~His Anger, Hinata and Her Worry~

"Right now, for the _real_ problem, I've already told you the concrete plans for the mission up ahead." Yamato said. "Our objective is purely capture. Under no circumstances must the target be killed even if it results in battle. If they are killed then we will have lost a valuable information source. This mission is more difficult than simply defeating the enemy. Given that it's a target mission, I'll be the first to go in, and you three will act as back-up. The strategy is simple. First, I will restrain the target. Second, if I fail to restrain them and a battle arises in that situation, you will all prepare to fight. I'll signal you in that case. And if we reach a situation like that then we will fight via the buddy system. When one person moves, the other will look after them. The principle of the system is mutual support. Now . . . I'll decide on the buddies. First, Naruto and Sai. Second, Hinata and myself."

"But—"

"Hinata, you are the Hyuga clan's heiress—not only that, but you are the only one of this team who knows any medical jutsu. So that you are not injured, I will be with you."

Hinata didn't try to argue the matter any further but Naruto, other the other hand, was furious. First of all, Hinata was really the only person he actually knew who was on the team, and he didn't really trust Yamato yet with her safety. And secondly and most importantly, "Why the Hell am I paired up with that—"

"_Pardon_?" And Yamato the Scary Faced returned.

And not wanting to see that face anymore, Naruto quickly shut up, though he made a note to complain to Sakura in his letter later on.

"So," Yamato continued, scary face gone. "Keeping all that in mind, this isn't exactly normal, but we will spend some time the next few days on a simulation for team playing. I know nothing about all of you except for what's in your files. I would like to know about things like your fighting methods, battle skills, and array of jutsu and, through getting to know each other, smoothen up your teamwork. You might think I'm being too serious, but that's how I do things, so put your all in it."

And so, for a few days, the team trained, trying to improve their teamwork. However, thanks to Sai and Naruto's constant bickering, they were unable to make much progress. And usually, after these sessions, Naruto would always go and train with Hinata as she was really the only one he'd actually talk to. It helped them both greatly. Naruto needed something to do to cool down after letting Sai get to him, and Hinata just needed the training. And together, they improved.

The nights were the same. After dinner, Naruto would get a letter from Sakura. Hinata tired of watching from afar and sometimes sat down with him to read the kunoichi's recent letter. Hinata even wrote some of Naruto's letters for him. Of course, the next day, Sakura had asked Naruto to stop forcing Hinata to do that, though she herself had preferred the Hyuga's handwriting.

And as Hinata wrote down Naruto's words for him, she slowly realized that the bond between Sakura and him was more like siblings'. That was a great relief to her. She still had a chance. But she never found herself thinking like that. No, she was much too worried about Naruto. And spending more time with him, she started to worry more about Sakura. How was she doing and was she alright?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Oh, I'm dying! I'm _dying_!" Sakura cried as she slammed her forehead against the wall, ignoring Kiki's disapproving barks. Yes, kunoichi was dying—dying of boredom, that is, and soon to be dying because she kept hitting her head against the wall! "There's _nothing_ to do!"

And indeed, there really was nothing to do. She had already checked off everything on her list of "What-to-do-as-a-captive/honored-guest-in-Oto." Try to escape? Check times a thousand. Go through the Uchiha's things? Check times two. Find things to blackmail him? Check (although she couldn't find anything to do so). Throw things at that chicken-ass hairdo of his? Check, check, check. Etc., etc., insert things that Naruto would try and do to get on Sasuke's nerves, etc. Piss off the Uchiha? Check times infinity (although she had to do so to actually _finish_ this list).

She had done _everything_ she wanted to, and she wasn't even held captive for a _month_ yet! Oh, god! Sure, she was allowed to leave the room now, but that was only when Sasuke would escort her to meet Jiraiya (and he'd be watching from who knows where but somewhere where Jiraiya couldn't see him). And then there was that one incident where Orochimaru had to switch bases. Luckily for her, Kabuto and Orochimaru went off in a different direction from Sasuke. She would have _died_ if she had to travel with the likes of Satin's whacko spawn!

Unfortunately, though, Sasuke had bound her hands behind her back and dragged her in front of his group of ninja. Embarrassed, she had come up with a plan to escape—a plan where she could take her revenge on the Uchiha by embarrassing him! Ooh, how _that_ went! She could always hear one Oto-nin talking about it as they passed the hall by her room. However, there was that _one_ event…

She shook her head furiously. She didn't even want to _think_ about it! After all, Sasuke only did it to shut her up. He… She groaned as she felt her face heating up. Oh, why did he even do that?

She soon found herself watching memories of her and her friends from Konoha 11 again on the present Hinata had given her before she had left Konoha, trying to forget about that one event—luckily, Orochimaru had actually _allowed_ her to keep her things. Her plan worked. She had completely forgotten about that event when the Uchiha came into the room.

She quickly hid her card and sighed _loudly_.

The Uchiha ignored her.

She sighed _again_.

And he ignored her _again_.

And so, she pulled out a whole series of questions—most of them useless for any black-mailing purposes since he wouldn't answer any of those. And then she pulled out her ultimate question, one that would have had Sasuke spitting out his drink if he were actually drinking something.

"Train me, would ya?"

. . .

. . .

And he turned to leave the room cuz he was _so not_ going to give Sakura a chance to punch him. Nah-uh.

"DAMN IT, UCHIHA!" And she grabbed the nearest, breakable thing and chucked it at him.

✿｡.:***A few days later***:.｡✿

"Excellent capture, Sai…" Yamato complimented the artist. "The simulation ends here."

At that moment, Naruto came out of the forest, all covered in ink and paint.

"Na-_Naruto-kun_?" Hinata asked, worried about him. "What happened to you?"

But the knucklehead didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed Sai by the collar of his shirt, threatening to punch him.

"What is it?" Sai asked, all calm-like.

"Do you even know what the word _'companion'_ means?" Naruto asked as he released Sai.

"Of course, I know." Sai said as he wrote the word on one of his scrolls. "What about it?"

But Hinata could see the fury building up in her teammate's eyes as he gritted his teeth. "Na-Naruto-kun, calm down…"

"Please don't lay the blame on others for your own minimal amount of ability," Sai said. "Had you not fallen for the captain's _obvious_ provocation, I would have been able to stay hidden without being exposed. You went and had your clone transform into me. Then, you made it obvious by using your own jutsu. It's not pleasant to fight while looking after someone who can't even keep himself in check. I just worked with the success of the mission in mind, and—"

Naruto shoved him and began to walk away. "I will _never_ consider you a companion or a member of Team Kakashi."

Yamato just shook his head. "This really was pointless, wasn't it?"

_Naruto-kun…_ Hinata was definitely worried.

"What would Sasuke-kun have done in that situation?" Sai asked, still smiling. "Fought while looking after you? As a companion and a member of Team Kakashi?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks, his reaction unclear.

_No…!_ Hinata thought. _Naruto-kun can't hold on much longer…_

"The one who betrayed the village and injured you…" Sai asked, "You still refer to him as your _friend_?"

"If it's to save that friend," Naruto said, turning back to glare at the Root member. "I'll do _anything_! Even if that means working with _you_!" And with that, Naruto went on to go train by himself and to work off his anger.

"Why does he care so much about Sasuke?" Sai asked Hinata.

"Naruto-kun thinks of Sasuke-kun . . . as a brother," the Hyuga answered. "Though Sakura-san could tell you more, I think that's why… You have a brother, too. Can't . . . can't you understand that feeling?"

"No, not at all." Sai answered. "Remember what we were saying about picture titles…? I have none of what you call _'emotions_.'"

"You say you don't feel anything… You say you don't have emotions… What . . . what do you mean?"

"Just what I said." And with that, Sai went off in the opposite direction.

She glanced back at Naruto. He was trembling and dragging his nails through the bark of a tree. Hinata couldn't stand seeing him that way…

"In that case," she said to Sai, "if you have a brother then can't you imagine what it's like when he's not there?"

"_Hmm_…? Oh, yeah, of course," Sai answered—that fake smile still on his face. "My brother's already dead."

Hinata's eyes widened. "Then . . . then you really should—"

"Hmm, should I have used that expression?"

Confused, Hinata could only asked, "_Anoo_ . . . is there something you want to say?"

"Oh, not really… I just . . . didn't know what kind of expression to put on my face when my brother died."

_This guy…_

"Alright, that's enough talking." Yamato said, crossing his arms. He had heard just about enough. "We're about to go, so go get your stuff."

"Sai," Hinata said, her eyes raging with fury. "To be honest, if Sakura-san were here, she'd send you flying right there… I'd even dare to use my gentle fist on you. I told you before that, if you bad-mouthed Sasuke-kun one more time, I wouldn't hold back on Sakura-san's behalf… But I didn't do so because of what Naruto-kun had just said. That to save Sasuke-kun, he'd even work with someone like you who bad-mouths him. No matter who you are, to save Sasuke-kun, I don't think Sakura-san would like it if I hurt you."

"Hinata-chan, you're very . . . gentle and protective of Naruto, aren't you?" Sai asked. "And it's not just for this Sakura-san's sake, is it?"

Hinata didn't answer. Did she need to?

"I don't understand feelings like those," Sai continued. "It was in a book I read—"

"Come on!" Naruto yelled. "Let's get going! If we're not there by noon tomorrow then this will all be for nothing!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

That night, Hinata couldn't sleep. She was worried—that was an understatement, but she was worried. What if Sakura had been wrong? What if she _wasn't_ the best choice to watch over Naruto? She wondered if she were strong enough to actually help him bring back Sasuke… Would she be as much help as Sakura might have been? Or any other kunoichi, for that matter? Oh, god, she had so many doubts…

_Huh? _She glanced outside. _Isn't that Naruto-kun? _She got out of bed and ran out.

"Oh, Hinata-chan," he smiled at her. "You couldn't sleep either?"

The Hyuga didn't know how to answer, but she knew she was turning red. What was she to say? What was she to do?

"Come and sit down then." The blonde gestured to the seat next to him.

And so Hinata sat next to him, wondering what he was doing what hear. To her, it seemed like he was just looking at the stars… Should she offer to whip him up some ramen?

"You know," he finally said to her after a few minutes, "when I wrote to Sakura that we'd meet with that spy tomorrow, she wrote back in five minutes telling me good luck and then . . . in the next few sentences, she told me to be careful…" He gave a wry chuckle. "I guess she's still worried about me, thinks of me like a small child… Doesn't she? Maybe she doesn't think I'd be able to pull off this mission, after all…"

"No…! It's probably not like that…!" Hinata argued.

"_Huh_? What do you mean?"

"Sakura-san . . . For her to worry about you, it's just normal!" the Hyuga explained. "Of course, she'd worry! When you went to get Sasuke to return to Konoha two years ago, you and the rest came back critically injured! She's . . . she's probably hoping nothing like that ever happens again! Naruto-kun, tomorrow . . . there's not just the probability that you'd get injured; there's also the chance that the Akatsuki had laid a trap for you! For her to worry . . . it's only natural when the odds are like this! She's not worried that you can't pull off the mission—she's just worried about your well-being! She wants to make sure you're okay, but she's . . . she's unable to be here, so . . . so…"

Naruto smiled then. "Arigato, Hinata-chan!" he said. "You know, when you first became a part of this team, I had thought of you like how I think of Sai right now—just a replacement, you know? But now . . ."—he hugged her—"I'm glad _you're_ the one Sakura chose to replace her."

"Na-Naruto-kun…!" Hinata's face was as red as the sun.

"I really _do_ like you, Hinata-chan!"

And it turned out that that was all Hinata need to fall asleep . . . literally.

"Hey, Hinata-chan? _Hinata-chan_! Why did you faint again?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

The next day, everyone was anxious as they get into place. They had gotten there an hour earlier as a precaution to check for any traps. There were none, but they didn't let down their guard. If they did, they might have lost their chance. They waited once they were done patrolling the area until finally the spy came. However, they couldn't get a good look at his face—his hood covered him too well.

But either way, Sasori—or rather, Yamato dressed up as Sasori—crossed the bridge to him.

"It's been a long time, Sasori-sama," the spy said, greeting the supposed Akatsuki member and taking off his hood.

His face shocked both Naruto and Hinata. _That's_—

"It has been five years," the spy continued.

_—Yakushi Kabuto!_

"Were you followed?" Yamato as Sasori asked.

"No, it's safe…" Kabuto said.

"How are you?"

"When your jutsu was lifted and I remembered who I really was, I felt somewhat disoriented. I am still somewhat heavy-headed."

✿｡.:***Somewhere nearby***:.｡✿

"Him again!" Naruto couldn't believe his eyes.

"How is it Kabuto?" Hinata asked. "Isn't he Orochimaru's right-hand man?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I have some questions for you…"

"I have little time, so please make it brief." Kabuto said. "It was a great risk to slip away from Orochimaru to come here."

"Tell me . . . about the location of your base and about Uchiha Sasuke."

"We have many bases," Kabuto answered. "To keep from being discovered, we change on a weekly basis. There are, of course, bases in other countries besides Oto. Orochimaru's spies enter those countries and guide us, but we have various movement methods which can sometimes be cumbersome… Our current base is hidden on a small island in a lake to the north. We will move from there in three days. Uchiha Sasuke is also there."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"The wind's really strong," Naruto said, cupping his hands around his ears. "I can't pick up _anything_ they're saying!"

"Th-that's why we're only supposed to be this close," Hinata explained. "Our scent and sound are carried away by the wind…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Suddenly, Kabuto threw his shuriken at a nearby bush, though it was only a rabbit he had sensed. He let out a sigh of relief before going back to his conversation. "By the way," he said, "about that one task you asked me of, Sasori-sama—"

_Not good! _Yamato thought._ I still needed to get a few more things out of him but, if I continue this conversation any longer, I'll blow my cover!_

"Even after his transmigration, Orochimaru cast a jutsu on the cellular specimen of the leftover corpse in order to protect it." Kabuto explained. "I was unable to perform any data analysis of that specimen."

"I see…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Just what is he doing?" Naruto was furious. "Why doesn't he go ahead with the capture already?"

"This is Kabuto we're talking about here, Naruto-kun," Hinata explained. "If he were to get away then things would end here… Taking things almost too carefully here is just what Yamato-taichou needs to do."

"Still, if he were to take things too carefully than he needs to and ends up arousing suspicions then he'll lose his chance to capture the target." Sai added.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"On that note,"—Kabuto held out his hand—"please give me the item we talked about. I can't continue to stay here much longer. If it's found out I'm meeting you like this, I'll be killed."

"Very well…" _Shit, the end of the line…It's now or never! _Yamato quickly took out a kunai but, before he could strike, an unwanted guest appeared.

"Your conversation seems quite amusing…" Orochimaru came behind Kabuto, a snake wrapped around the traitor's body. "Mind if_ I _joined in?"

_He was followed!_

Before the snake was able to suffocate Kabuto, he jumped out of his cloak and to Sasori/Yamato's side. "I almost wasn't able to step back in time," he said. "But thanks to you taking out your kunai, Sasori-sama, I was…"

_I suppose I've at least escaped detection for now… Still, now that Orochimaru's here, what should I do?_

"Ah, that cloak of yours… It brings back memories, Sasori…" Orochimaru said.

"So . . . you followed Kabuto here then?"

"I just wanted to give you some thanks… That lovely boy there you sent me . . ." the snake explained, "I was able to make quite good use of him… In order for me to develop a new jutsu, I needed to conduct experiments on well over a hundred live human subjects. Thanks to that boy's medical ninjutsu, I was able to use the same test subject any number of times. I have quite a hard time coming across test subjects, after all…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"What do we do _now_?"

"All . . . all we can do, Naruto-kun, is wait for the captain's signal…" But Hinata's worried tone only went noticed by Sai. Naruto's face had drastically changed, more demonic as his anger grew with each passing second… What was happening?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

_In all likelihood, me taking on Orochimaru by myself is out of the question. But if I call in the others then Kabuto will know of my identity and capturing him will prove difficult… Even if I try and work with him and subdue Orochimaru, my fighting style will make it clear in an instant that I'm not Sasori. Either way, I'm just left with the choice of defeating him or just retreating, but just one or the other—_

Kabuto focused his chakra into his hands and _Slash!_ He attacked Yamato, completely destroying his disguise. Quickly, Yamato jumped back.

_Did he figure it out? No… Just what's going on?_

"Striking Shadow Snakes!"

Countless of snakes shot out of Orochimaru's sleeve, all aimed for the team leader. They wrapped around the helpless Yamato, one even bit him on the neck. Luckily, that was only a substitution…

Orochimaru was now amused. "A substitution using the wood style…" he said to the real Yamato who stood on the opposite side of the bridge. "You couldn't be…"

"Orochimaru-sama, is that the _real_ Sasori?" Kabuto asked.

"No, it is not…" Orochimaru answered, chuckling a bit. "Kabuto, are you telling me that _you_, one of Sasori's subordinates, don't even know his real face?"

"Well, he was a gloomy individual, after all… Always hiding in that puppet of his…"

"What are you talking about?" Yamato asked, clutching the injury that Kabuto was able to inflict onto his arm. "Kabuto, you're supposed to be an Akatsuki _spy_! You should have been under the effects of Sasori's jutsu!"

"Ah, yes, that jutsu…" Kabuto chuckled. "Orochimaru-sama had freed me from it quite some time ago…"

"I wasn't expecting you to change sides, acting as though you were still under the effects of Sasori's jutsu…" Yamato said, cursing under his breath. "I suppose this means that you fell prey to Orochimaru's jutsu then…"

"No, not exactly… All I fell prey to was Orochimaru's magnificent way of thinking…" (A/N: it took me a while to actually force myself to type that.) "I chose this path myself. But tell me, who are you anyway? We already had suspicions that Sasori might have been killed, but regardless we came with the intent of killing him, so this is quite a mishap…"

"Kabuto, I'll tell you about this little boy afterwards… But first things first,"—the Sanin turned to Yamato—"why don't you call out those three little mice you've got hiding in the bushes?"

_So . . . he's already seen through everything… _Yamato cursed again and signaled for his team.

"So it's you again?" Kabuto asked, recognizing Naruto immediately.

"I've seen that face a number of times…" Orochimaru crackled. "Since the Kyuubi boy is here, let's play with them a little bit…" He laughed again and then spoke to Naruto. "I'll give you the pleasure of telling you which has gotten stronger: you or Sasuke-kun…"

"Give—Sasuke—_back_!" Naruto snarled, shocking his teammates. His teeth grew larger—sharper, into fangs—and a red chakra surrounded him.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura fell to her knees. Of course, she was tired. Dodging every single jutsu that came from Orochimaru's star pupil was definitely exhausting. Landing three punches to his stomach and sending him flying—of which was her goal—and then healing those bruises with less than enough chakra was even more tiring but rewarding. _That'd teach him to underestimate me again!_

And so now, she was just watching him train by himself since she decided she was satisfied and since he decided he had enough of her punches (although the Uchiha would never admit it). She couldn't return back to the room, however. The Uchiha wouldn't allow her to go _anywhere_ without him since he didn't want her "_getting lost_" and wandering off to an exit . . . _again_.

But, needles to say, she was now bored, left to just play with the bracelet Naruto and the rest of her friends had given her. She remembered its mysterious power: first, there was that nice little barrier addition. During her battles with those criminals of the Bingo Book, she had found it a lot more than useful. Of course, when she had encountered Orochimaru and the Oto-nin, it had helped so much! But then when it came to Sasuke . . . let's just say it was completely _useless_! It was only _after_ she had written to Naruto to ask about that facility that she found out it would not work if she was not in any _clear_ danger (to which she didn't believe and forced it out of the knucklehead that they didn't think she wouldn't meet some people—AKA the Uchiha—so they didn't safeguard it against them.)

Then, it stored people's chakra and allowed her to use their jutsu. That had come in handy. When she had been sparring with the Uchiha, she had wanted to try it out some more, and it turned out pretty useless, after all, though she kept it a secret from her ex-teammate. Besides, he didn't really ask her about that weapons summoning jutsu of Tenten's, so she was safe . . . for now. She also realized that the bracelet's black gem would turn to a respective color whenever one of her friends was in battle.

_I wonder if they knew that too… _But she shrugged it off. Knowing her friends only had a night to make this bracelet, they had probably rushed it and forgot to check it or something.

_Itai!_ She looked down at her wrist. _Did they also not check to see if it would _burn_ my hand? _But then, she saw the color of the gem: orange… With an ominous red surrounding it… Her eyes widened. Sakura was worried—that was more of an understatement. She was so worried she didn't even feel it as her wrist continued to burn, and she continued watching as the red color completely took over the orange.

_Naruto… Did something happen during his mission?_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Kabuto laughed. "There is no '_giving back_,' Naruto-kun. Here, let me explain it to you. Sasuke-kun came to us of his own free will. It's about time you got over it. Going on like that is hardly behaving like a man—"

"You, be quiet!" Hinata yelled. "You don't know anything about Naruto-kun's feelings!"

"_Oh_? What's this?" Orochimaru asked. He chuckled. "I had thought Sakura-chan was your teammate. What happened? Did she abandon you too, Naruto-kun?"

"_SHUT UP_!" Naruto screamed.

"Heheh… If you want to know about Sasuke-kun, why don't you try _forcing_ it out of me? That is, if you can."

A series of explosions went off, but Naruto charged at Orochimaru—the red chakra completely engulfed him, and it looked like . . . he had _tails_?

He grabbed Orochimaru's face, the red chakra burning the Sanin, and chucked the Sanin's body into the forest where it left a path of fire. And Naruto's next target: Kabuto…

Hinata's eyes were wide with shock. _Naruto-kun…? What is this?_

Yamato, however, watched with his wary eyes. _So it's true… It ended up happening just as I was told…_ He had hoped something like this would not happen…

_"Judging from the appearance of its chakra, its tails would continue to increase at a rapid rate…" Jiraiya explained to Tsunade and Yamato. "And in the end—"_

_"—there will be nine of them," Kakashi finished. "Exactly how many tails did you witness?"_

_"Heh," Jiraiya laughed at the memory as he began took off his jacket. "There have been only two times in my life where I almost died… The first time, I was left with six ribs and both arms broken, as well as a number of ruptured organs, after trying to take a peek at some women bathing… Tsunade, that was when you had your way with me."_

_But the Hokage just crossed her arms and _hmp_ed._

_"And then the second time"—the large scar that completely covered the Sanin's chest surprised them all—"That was when I was training with Naruto after having witnessed his Kyuubi chakra form a fourth tail. With rage acting as the trigger, the tails of the demon fox increased. He was able to retain consciousness up until the third tail formed. But once the fourth one sprouted, he lost all appreciation for his actions and a pure destructive impulse. It was as if he had become a miniature Kyuubi himself."_

_"Even with the Yondaime's seals, it went _that_ far?" Kakashi asked._

_"I'm not sure of the specifics, but there's one thing I can say…" Jiraiya replied. "It would appear that the Yondaime's seal is in the process of weakening. And another problem… In his Kyuubi form, he is covered by a fox-shaped shroud formed of chakra that, at first sight, looks to be protecting him. But in reality, it's doing quite the opposite. It's constantly causing damage to his body. By the time the fourth tail had formed, his body was not only covered by the chakra shroud but also in his own blood… He went on rampage, despite a number of serious injuries… Once the chakra shroud dissipated, Naruto's body recovered through its internal Kyuubi chakra. But if he continues such a rapid cycle of injury followed by accelerated healing then Naruto's body will weaken, and his lifespan will be shortened."_

_"That is why we need _you_, Yamato." Tsunade said. "You who had inherited the cells of the Shodai Hokage."_

_"Currently, it is only you who possess enough potential to control a jinchūriki." Jiraiya explained. "And as luck would have it, the Shodai's necklace is already hanging around Naruto's neck. We're counting on you."_

"Naruto-kun, I see you've developed very nicely as a jinchūriki…" Kabuto smiled wickedly. _The Kyuubi is becoming ever stronger, no doubt…_

_Jinchūriki? _Hinata glanced again at Naruto. Just what was happening?

"My, oh my…" Orochimaru had just come back from his fall—his facial mask burned to shreds, revealing the face of the body he was currently using. "You sure have become quite the jinchūriki, Naruto-kun… And that explains why you were chosen to watch over him." He chuckled, now speaking to Yamato. "It would appear that my experiments were of some help, after all… I should think Konoha would be a bit more appreciative, wouldn't you agree . . . dearest guinea pig of mine?"

* * *

**Yondaime = Fourth (as in Fourth Hokage)**

**Phew! This chapter's done! Oh, and the Shodai's necklace . . . yeah, remember the necklace Tsunade gave Naruto when he was determined to save her from Kabuto? Yeah, that's the one. I hoped you guys enjoyed it so far! Please review!**


	7. Episode 7

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**Yay, another chapter! It's not my _favorite_ part of the story, but I had to put it in… So please enjoy, kay?**

* * *

Episode Seven

~His Lost of Control, The Kyuubi's Power~

"_Guinea pig_?" Kabuto asked, staring at Yamato. "Just who is this person?"

"Well, you see…" Orochimaru started as he fixed his face. "The first Hokage was a shinobi possessing the most unique of abilities… The wood style ninjutsu… What's more, he was also able to bend the tailed beasts to his own will. Oh, how I coveted those _gifts_ of his… Having obtained data on the Shodai's genomes from his remains, I carried out an experiment in which his genetic traits were sliced into the cells of sixty different children, my test subjects. But their bodies didn't seem to like the foreign DNA, to say the least… They died by the dozens, one after another… And here I thought they all shared the same fate. To think that there was a lone survivor!"

Hinata stared at her team leader, shocked. _Yamato-taichou . . . he used to be Orochimaru's _experiment_?_

Kabuto smirked. "Well then, it seems you'll be able to get your hands on what one might call a long overdue research sample."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Yes… But before that,"—he turned his attention back to Naruto—"I would wish to see our Sasuke-kun fight the Kyuubi boy once. I wonder which has gotten stronger…"

"He isn't _yours_…" And suddenly, from his chakra shroud, Naruto sprouted two extra tails in just a blink of the eye. "IN MY PRESENCE, DON'T YOU _DARE_ TALK OF SASUKE OF IF HE BELONGS TO _YOU_!" An explosion of chakra, threads of it, flew into the air like whips.

Yamato's eyes widened. "_That's_…!"

Hinata shifted her eyes at her teammate, her eyes now filled with worry. _What is that . . . that chakra?_

Sai held his hand in front of his face. _This air… It hurts!_

As Orochimaru stared down at Naruto—no, the _Kyuubi_—he couldn't help but smile at his fortune. _How amusing…_ he thought.

_No doubt about it, _Yamato thought, cursing. _That's the demon-fox shroud… And three tails already…_

_This chakra . . . it's terrifying…_ Hinata thought, Goosebumps all over her. _I can tell by just how it feels on my skin… This isn't any type of chakra that can be controlled!_

_So . . . _Sai thought, his eyes narrowing. _This is Uzumaki Naruto with the power of the Kyuubi…_

Kabuto focused his chakra into his palm and charged at Naruto while his back was turned. But with the Kyuubi's chakra in the air, Naruto felt the vibrations as Kabuto moved and turned around. He let out a horrifying roar, and another explosion of chakra erupted. It was so powerful that Kabuto was sent all the way across the bridge and into the forest. But Kabuto wasn't the only one hit; Hinata was sent back, and the bridge was cut in half and was now collapsing.

Moving quickly, Yamato hurried with his hand signs and used his jutsu to support his half of the bridge.

Orochimaru quickly moved back, but a large chakra hand reached out and uppercut him. And Naruto went after him.

As Yamato tried to sustain the bridge, he finally noticed Hinata's unconscious form. _Did she hit her head when she fell just a second ago? She sure picked a Hell of a time to lose consciousness!_

Sai, on the other side of the bridge, quickly took out a scroll. _This is it! _he thought. _This is where my top-secret mission begins! _He painted a bird, "Ninja Art: Super Beasts Scroll!" And it was in enormous proportions.

Yamato saw as Sai got on his painting. "Sai!" he yelled. "Help Hinata!"

But as the Hyuga began falling down in the gorge, Sai did not do as he was told. He just simply passed her on the way.

"Oh, please…" Yamato prayed as he created another flexible root of wood. It shot out to grab Hinata, and luckily it caught her.

_Boom!_

Another chakra explosion… And this time, it was so far in the forest. Sai could see it all from his view. Orochimaru seemed to have lost an arm. However, two hands came out of his mouth and pulled off his skin. Another Orochimaru? No, he was just recovering from his lost arm and shedding his outer skin.

"You're using the power of the jinchūriki, and that's all you have to show…?" he asked Naruto. "I can see why even your Sakura-chan left you… You still have a ways to go before you catch up with Sasuke-kun…"

And as Orochimaru taunted him, Naruto's fourth tail began to sprout. His skin began to peel until he was only covered in his own blood.

Orochimaru chuckled. _This sensation . . . is quite different from what I've seen so far…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As Hinata woke up, she found herself back on the bridge, Yamato watching over her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Hinata sat up. "Y-yeah… I'm fine. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused." Her eyes widened when she caught sight of Naruto's evil chakra shooting into the sky.

_I've got a bad feeling about this…_ Yamato thought as he quickly made a clone and sent it off to where Naruto was.

"Wh-what . . . what happened here?" Hinata asked, glancing at the now destroyed bridge.

"It was all Naruto's doing…"

"Where is he?" Hinata asked, worried now.

"On the other side of the bridge," Yamato answer. "Along with Orochimaru."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

_Naruto's going to be a problem…_ Sai thought, still watching from his bird.

Suddenly, a whole orb of chakra shot up and disintegrated every tree within a ten-mile radius of Naruto.

"Honestly," Orochimaru who was sprawled onto the ground said. "This boy… He simply amuses me to no end."

And as Yamato's clone watched on, he cursed. The fourth tail was now fully completed.

Orochimaru threw up a whole army of snakes then, and they all charged—or rather, slithered as quickly as possible—towards the miniature Kyuubi. Naruto slammed down his hand, and a whole shockwave went through the area, destroying the snakes.

Yamato was almost knocked down. _A shockwave this big with the wave of one hand? This can't be real!_

Naruto slammed himself into the earth and, just when he was to grab the Sanin, Orochimaru quickly jumped out of the way as Naruto's arms shot out of the ground. But his hand continued to snake after the Sanin. And as Orochimaru shot a large snake at Naruto's hand, the snake turned ablaze at first touch. Another Orochimaru came out of the Sanin's mouth and punched Naruto right in the kisser. But Naruto returned the favor and sliced him in half. However, Orochimaru reconnected himself, a smile on his face.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I can't say that I was expecting to see the fourth tail here…"

"Yamato-taichou…" Hinata said, realizing something. "You know something about Naruto-kun that you're not saying, aren't you? Just what's happening to him?"

"Hinata, there's no need for you to worry," Yamato replied. "It's for this reason in particular that I was chosen for this mission."

"Well, then…"

The two turned around. Kabuto was still _alive_?

"It would seem that Sasori won't be showing up, after all…" the freak said. "His decision to tell you of this bridge was, in all likelihood, made with the intent of having you take care of Orochimaru-sama since he's been a thorn in the side for the Akatsuki. If the Sasori I knew chose to send you here then that means he was impressed by your strength. Sasori harbored much ill-will towards Orochimaru-sama and was always talking of how he intended to finish him with his own hands. If he went back on those words and sent _you_ to do the job then he's already been reduced to a state where he can't do it himself… In other words, he's either been taken captive or he's no longer counted among the living."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Hinata said. "But it's the latter. His grandmother and Sakura made sure of it."

Kabuto smiled. "Well, that's _wonderful_ news."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Orochimaru moved back as he saw Naruto charging up for his next jutsu. _This is getting rather troublesome… _he thought. _Even for me to be hit by such highly concentrated chakra would spend out unavoidable death…_

Yamato's clone looked on with anxious eyes. _So, in search of stability, the chakra that leaked out is attempting a form even closer to the Kyuubi… Then that is _truly_ a miniature form of the demon-fox with Naruto's body acting more like a skeleton… The Kyuubi chakra here is different than what I saw before both in terms of its quantity and character. Most notably, it reeks of malice. How can he still be able to _move_ with that kind of chakra around him? Naruto, just what's happening to you?_

Just then, Naruto fell to the ground, almost paralyzed.

Orochimaru laughed at the sight. _So you ingest that kind of chakra, making it harder for you to move… But how do you plan on fighting then?_

Naruto's body bloated up and then _Boom!_ He shot this . . . this laser out of his mouth.

_So that's how it is?_ But even with that kind of jutsu pitted against him, Orochimaru was _not_ going down without a fight.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"He's become more like the Kyuubi than he was minutes before…" Kabuto said.

Hinata, shocked at these words, didn't know how to respond. "Naruto-kun…"

"You'd be better off calling this a battle between _demons_ rather than ninja."

_Boom!_

"Naruto's been thrown over here…" Yamato said.

And as Orochimaru went in for the kill, Naruto slammed his arm against the bridge—Orochimaru going down with it.

"Not good!" Yamato yelled as he carried Hinata to safer ground.

"Take a look at that…" Kabuto said. "He's willing to become _that_ just to save Sasuke-kun."

Tears came to Hinata's eyes.

"By now, his own senses are leaving him… What a sad boy…"

And with that, Hinata's legs moved of their own accord. She ran . . . towards Naruto.

"No, Hinata!" Yamato yelled after her. "Don't go near him when he's in that state!"

"Naruto-kun!" she yelled. "Enough already! Even Sakura wouldn't want to see you like this! _Please_! I'll rescue Sasuke for you! So . . . so you don't have to—"

But Naruto didn't know friend from foe, and…

✿｡.:***Somewhere far away***:.｡✿

"He attacked Hinata!"

Sakura knew it was bad when she saw the orange color of the gem turn a bloody red but, when she saw the red shooting at a light sky-blue dot, she jumped from her seat and ran towards the exit.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

_Now's my chance…_ Sai thought as Orochimaru fixed himself up.

"It looks like it's almost time…" the Sanin said. _As expected, this body is rejecting me… What a pity, the fun has to stop here… I just have to endure this for a little while longer… I still have Sasuke…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Hinata fell to the floor, clutching her bleeding arm. Luckily, it was only her arm that was injured. Yamato had restrained Naruto with his wood-styled jutsu.

_Damn!_ he thought. _I didn't make it in time! _He turned his eyes back to Hinata.

Kabuto was walking _towards_ her! A piece of wood shot out and grabbed the silver-haired ninja's arm.

"I won't let you touch her!" Yamato said.

"Hey, now, we have no reason to fight you guys anymore." the medic said. "On the contrary, it's just the opposite."

"What do you mean?" Yamato asked as Kabuto's chakra flew towards Hinata, healing the Hyuga as he had done so during the final part of the chunin exams years ago.

"We have the same objective…" he said. "The Akatsuki is in the way. If we let you guys live, you might be able to take out another Akatsuki member even _if_ Sakura-san is not with you anymore.

_Naruto-kun… _Hinata thought as she watched him struggle in the wooden chains.

"Although, _that_ is your companion, so you'll have to deal with him yourselves." _Orochimaru's time is almost up._ And with that, Kabuto disappeared from sight, and Yamato turned his full attention to Naruto.

_It's now or never! _he thought. He held out his hand. "Hokage Style Elder Jutsu: Tenth Edict on Enlightenment!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I'm a hand of Danzo-sama's," Sai explained to the Sanin. "I'm not your enemy. I have something I'd like to talk about."

"Danzo, huh?" Orochimaru asked. "So . . . that old senile man is still alive? What can this message be?"

"Actually, it's a message from him to you, Orochimaru-sama." Sai said, a smile on his face. "But before that—"

"Choose your words carefully," Orochimaru warned. "Otherwise, you'll die."

"I will only speak in the way Danzo-sama instructed me." Sai explained. "After that, if something displeases you then do as you please."

A sword shot out of the Sanin's mouth and hit Sai in the stomach.

"You kids really have no manners…" he said as Sai melted away into a puddle of paint. The sword turned into a snake and slithered up the Sanin's leg as Sai popped out of the ground. "When speaking to your superiors, it's polite _not_ to use a clone."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As Hinata began to heal Naruto, she couldn't help but make an observation. _His wounds are healing so much slower now… The recovery was faster before…_

_Jiraiya-sama spoke of the fourth tail,_ Yamato thought, _But I wouldn't have thought it was so…_

"_!_" Hinata's arm began to hurt, but she continued despite the pain. "Yamato-taichou… The technique you stopped Naruto with, could you teach it to me?" she asked.

"That's impossible," Yamato said with an apologetic face. "In Konoha, I'm the only one who can use it because I was compatible with the Shodai's cells. The power to control the Kyuubi . . . I can't use it as well as the original Shodai could since I'm just an experimental copy. The necklace around Naruto's neck, it's something the Shodai had. It's a chakra crystal that only responds to the Shodai's chakra. With that, I can control the power of a jinchūriki. It is said that the Shodai was made the first Hokage because of that power as I have been made leader of this team."

Hinata let out a wry laugh. "It's _always_ like this…" she said, trying to smile. "The things I can do for him… They're always so _small_… I bet even Sakura-san could do more for him…"

"It's not a problem of big or small," Yamato explained. "What's important is the strength of the feelings you have for Naruto." He let out a small sigh. "Hinata, I can tell by just looking at you. You lov—"

"Hin . . . Hinata-chan…" Naruto started to stir. "_Itai desu_…" He sat up.

"Na . . . _Naruto-kun_!"

"Huh? What happened to me?" He saw the Hyuga's tears then. "Why . . . why are you crying, Hinata-chan?" And then he came up with an answer of his own. "_Aha_!" he yelled, jumping to his feet. "That forked-tongue Sai must have hurt you with his insults again! Daijōbu, Hinata-chan! I'll get him for you!" But then he realized the bastard wasn't there. "_Anoo_ . . . Yamato-taichou, where's Sai?"

* * *

**Yay! I'm done with the chapter! And I gotta say, I haven't typed up something I had ever hated this much. In my opinion, this chapter is just horrible! Sorry, you guys. I promise the next chapter will be so much better, kay?**


	8. Episode 8

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**Yay, here's another chapter! And I just want to take this chance to say thank you for those of you who have read my story and for those who reviewed. I really feel like I'm actually accomplishing something with this story. But again, there's going to be a little small bit of skipping in this chapter. But really, I'm just forwarding the useless stuff, kay? I know you guys want to see more NaruHina stuff, so I'm trying to add that in more here and there. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Episode Eight

~Sai's Betrayal, His Resolve~

"What you say…" Orochimaru asked, "On what basis should I trust it?"

Sai didn't answer, keeping on an impassive face, and reached back into his backpack.

Kabuto pounced him from behind, tackling him into the ground—a kunai to the boy's head. Everything from Sai's backpack fell out, including his paint set . . . and an envelope.

"What is that?"

"Come on, calm down, Kabuto." Orochimaru chuckled. "From today onward, this kid will become our subordinate."

". . . Can we trust him?"

"Please, look inside the envelope." Sai said to the Sanin. "It's for you from Danzo-sama."

And when Orochimaru peeked inside, he gasped. "This is…!"

"What's inside?" Kabuto asked.

"Kabuto, please. Release that kid," the Sanin ordered. "He's coming with us…"

Kabuto did as he was told, putting away his kunai and getting off of Sai.

"Sai, was it?" Orochimaru asked. "Shall we go then?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . what happened to Sai?" Naruto asked, clutching his still hurting stomach. He got a good look of the now destroyed bridge, and his eyes widened.

"Sai . . . he's right now moving with Orochimaru," Yamato explained, having some kind of telepathic talk with his shadow clone who had completely witnessed the Root member's betrayal.

And before Naruto could yell out a loud "WHAT?", Hinata asked, "Wh-what do you mean? What's this all about?"

"Follow me…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"First, the bridge's destroyed, and this crater's made…" Naruto said, observing the place where Sai's conversation with Orochimaru had taken place. "How is it that all this happened while I was unconscious? And why _was_ I unconscious in the first place?"

Yamato was about to answer but, when he saw Hinata's worried expression, he quickly stopped himself.

"You . . . Orochimaru got to you," Hinata answered instead. "He hit you on the head and left you unconscious…"

"So _that's_ it!" Naruto said, quickly blaming himself for being too weak. "Damn him! I'll—" But then he tripped over something. Typical Naruto…

"Na-Naruto-kun!" But when Hinata saw what he tripped over, she picked up the small picture book. "Sai's things are scattered all over the ground…"

"He dropped those things and left them there," Yamato explained. "I guess even _he_ couldn't keep his cool when it came to Orochimaru."

"Yamato-taichou, you know what happened?"

"A clone of mine was here until a little while ago," the team leader said. "We've been communicating through a radio transmitter." (A/N: Oh… So he's not psychic. Oops, my bad…)

"Did . . . did something happen to Sai?" Hinata asked.

"After a discussion with Orochimaru, he followed them back."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"My clone was too far away to hear anything," Yamato said.

"I wonder what they talked about…"

"He . . . he might have been taken by force!" Hinata exclaimed, suddenly worried again.

"No, it didn't seem like it." Yamato explained. "He approached Orochimaru on his own and handed something to him. It was almost as if he was trying to get on Orochimaru's good side."

"Hey, hold on a second!" Naruto yelled. "He may be a jerk, but he wouldn't betr—"

"No…" Hinata had a different opinion. "He just may have… He works for Danzo, after all."

"_Who_?"

"Sai's superior," Hinata answered. "He's an old man who thought poorly of the Third Hokage's ideals and despises Tsunade-sama."

Yamato took that into account for a minute. "It's quite possible that he's relying on Sai to set his own plans into motion… Perhaps Danzo entrusted Sai with a top secret mission that had nothing to do with our own."

"So you're saying Sai was on a completely different mission from ours from the very beginning?" Naruto asked.

"Just about…" Yamato said, trying to figure out Danzo's motives. "What I'm about to tell you is no more than conjecture upon conjecture, but it's not out of the realm of possibility, so brace yourselves. Danzo . . . may well be intending to destroy Konoha as we know it."

"_WHAT_?"

"Suppose that, in order to remove Tsunade from the position of Hokage, he intends to conspire with Orochimaru to attack the village," Yamato clarified, foretelling the worst of worst situations. "So that he can build his _'ideal'_ Konoha from the ashes of the former and once again take center stage but this time as Hokage! And the reason he's making his move now may be that Danzo feels that Orochimaru is in a position where he's willingly to bargain, having attacked Konoha once and failed."

"No . . . no way!" Naruto couldn't believe his ears. "Then Sai's top secret mission is—"

"To earn Orochimaru's trust and serve as a liaison between him and Danzo?" Hinata finished the question.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As the team traveled through the forest, Hinata's arm had begun to hurt her again, but she tried to ignore it. _It's nothing… _she kept telling herself. But when she reached out to grab a branch, the pain grew even worse. Distracted, Hinata missed her target and began falling.

"_Hinata-chan_!" Naruto moved quickly. He was not going to let get hurt! He caught her just as she was about to hit the ground. "Hinata-chan…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Hinata, daijōbu desu ka?"

"Ye-yeah, I'm fine…" Hinata tried to smile. "It's . . . it's nothing to worry about, Naruto-kun…"

But Yamato knew better. _The Kyuubi chakra entering from her wound is like poison… Something like that can't simply be healed by Hinata's level of medical jutsu… For Naruto to endure it…_

"How did you get that injury, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Oh . . . th-this?" Hinata glanced at the wound on her arm. "I . . . I was careless. Orochimaru attacked me . . . but it only hurts a little bit… I can barely even feel it…"

"Hinata-chan, you shouldn't be putting yourself in danger like that."

"Let's take a little break here," Yamato said. "Hinata is our only medical nin. She's needed if we are to complete our mission successfully."

"I'm . . . I'm fine!" Hinata argued. "Be . . . besides, we need to hurry! If we don't leave now—"

"It's true that I did say that we should hurry, but there's also the saying, _'rushing only leads to disaster_.' There's a difference between hurrying and rashness, you know." He turned his attention back to the ramen-loving ninja. "Naruto! For the remainder of this mission, I'll be taking Sai's place as your partner. While we have time, let's decide on our attack pattern. Can you come over here for a bit?"

"But—"

"Daijōbu, Hinata-chan!" Naruto flashed her a smile. "It's just some man-to-man talk! There's no need for you to be involved!" And then he followed Yamato.

_Here will do… _the team leader thought, glancing at the distance between them and Hinata.

"So . . . what should we do first?" Naruto asked.

"Right, before that, there's something I need to discuss with you first, Naruto." Yamato said. "The one who hurt Hinata was _you_, Naruto…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . that bridge, that hollowed-out landscape, and Hinata-chan's wounds… I did all of that?"

"Correct," Yamato answered. "Hinata didn't want to hurt you, so she lied… That Kyuubi strength that you have, I have a special ability that enables me to suppress your jinchūriki power, so you shouldn't worry… However, that is only when I'm close to you. In short, I really didn't have to tell you the truth right now or anything, but the reason why I'm telling you this is that, if you use that strength, you might have a faster chance of saving Sasuke. But relying on the Kyuubi's strength isn't your true strength. Relying on the Kyuubi will not only hurt yourself but others around you, close to you. You should have realized that by now. The reason why you didn't try to stop releasing that power is because you got impatient, right?

"From now on, I'm going to suppress your Kyuubi chakra completely. However, if you think that that will make you weaker then you're greatly mistaken. You're strong enough to not need to rely on that power. Your true strength isn't from the Kyuubi's power, and the reason you're able to stand its chakra is because of the strength of your own chakra. If you want to save Sasuke, use your own power, not the Kyuubi's."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"You're _late_… Orochimaru, did you forget about how you were going to teach me a new jutsu this afternoon?"

Sakura would've flinched if it wasn't for the fact that she was sitting on the floor, thanks to the other fact that Sasuke had paralyzed her. Currently, she was trying to send her chakra through her body to stop the numbness. She shifted her eyes to Sai. _Who's he…?_

"You fail to mind your mouth, as always…" Kabuto sighed.

"Oh, do please calm down…" Orochimaru said. "You had your ex-teammate here to entertain yourself with. And instead of training, I happen to have come by a little present for you. He's a shinobi from Konoha, just like you… I figured you could bathe yourself in nostalgia, talking about your old village…"

"Greetings, my name is Sai."

"Get lost," the Uchiha snapped at the Root member.

". . . Even when I force myself to smile, it seems I'm the type of person who ends up being hated, and Naruto-kun didn't seem to care much for me the whole time too…"

_So _that's_ Naruto's new teammate…_ Sakura thought, glancing back and forth between the Uchiha and this really pale guy. _He doesn't really look like Sasuke… But . . . why is he even here?_

"But you know, in comparison with him, I think I'll get along with you much better."

And in that small second, the sound of birds chirping could be heard.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing his arm before he could harm the Root member.

"How admirable," Sai said, that fake smile on his face again. Was he trying to compliment her? "To see lightning and not think life is fleeting[1]… You must hold some kind of position in his heart since you know he won't harm you…"

Sakura stared at the Root member. Did he _want_ a death sentence?

The Uchiha stopped his jutsu then but activated his sharingan. And the moment Sai looked into his eyes, he fell to the floor.

Sai wiped his face. _Sweat…? I'm supposed to feel nothing, have no feelings… Yet . . . by just looking at his eyes, does this mean I fear Sasuke deep within my heart, despite being unable to recognize it myself?_

"It'd be a good idea not to tease Sasuke-kun too much," Orochimaru advised. "You see, he's even harder to deal with than I am."

"I don't care to deal with trash like that," Sasuke said. "Orochimaru, it's time for training _now_…"

"It seems he's been looking for you all this time," Sai said as he stood up. "For the last three years…"

Sasuke said nothing, though Sakura was a bit saddened by that.

"Naruto-kun considers you almost like his own brother," Sai continued. "That's what Hinata-san told me."

"I only have one brother," Sasuke said. "He's the one I want to kill…"

Sai said no more after that.

"Anyhow, I'll be leaving now…" Orochimaru said as he handed Kabuto the envelope from before. "Use these to compile a Bingo Book for our ninja."

And when Kabuto opened the envelope and took out the papers, his eyes widened. "These are copies of the profiles of the Hokage's personal troop division…! And they would seem to be the real thing…"

At these words, it was Sakura's turn for her eyes to widen. She glared at Sai. Her hand rolled into a fist. _Just who is he?_

Sai smiled at her. "So you must be Tsunade's student… Danzo told me I might meet up with you…"

Sakura didn't say anything, her ears catching onto the name of Sai's superior.

"He told me to kill you if I get the chance."

She scoffed. "How _nice_ of him…" Her fist shook. "Tsunade also told me that Danzo would be restless… I wonder how he'd take it if Konoha finds you pummeled to a pulp…"

"Hey, now…" Kabuto said, trying to stop a fight. "I know you two aren't from the same political party—"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Gee, what ever could have given you _that_ idea?"

"—but I don't want you two to start an unnecessary fight." Kabuto continued, ignoring Sakura's comment. "Sakura, you may be our honored guest here but, if you do anything to—"

"Enough," Sasuke said. "Sakura!"

She knew what he meant. "_Aw_… And I thought you'd leave me here… So much for trying to escape again…" the kunoichi sighed, but really she was grateful she was getting out of that room. She didn't want to be surrounded by too many criminals for any longer nor did she like it.

And as she passed Sai, she smiled at him. "I owe you a punch for insulting Hinata-chan and, for betraying Naruto, you owe me a death…"

"I'm looking forward to it," Sai replied, a smile still plastered on his face. "You're Tsunade's student, and Hinata said you defeated Sasori of the Akatsuki. I want to see for myself just how strong you really are."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Here, huh?"

"Yep," Yamato answered. "The entrance is right below that rock formation in front of us."

"Okay, let's go then." Naruto said.

"Hold on," Yamato held out a hand to stop him. And he took out two pills. "You can go _after_ you've swallowed this, Naruto. And here, one for you too, Hinata. Even if we end up getting separated, with those inside you, I'll be able to locate you immediately."

"What _are_ these?" Hinata asked, looking the pill over.

"To put things simply, those seeds are tracking devices. They're a tool of mine that respond only to my chakra. Those are just the same as the ones that I planted in Sai's clothes and food."

"I see…" Hinata said, still looking at the seed in her hand. "So . . . this is how you were able to track him."

"When did you manage to—"

"Don't you remember?" Yamato asked Naruto. "How I went back to the room before you three at the hot springs? Now you two should understand why I went out of my way, using my own money, to treat everyone to such a lavish stay at the hot springs. Everything was just like Tsunade-sama said. Taking precautions with Sai has sure paid off in the end."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Here we are," Kabuto said, opening a door. "Come inside." He lit a candle. "This shall be your room. When we don't have anything for you to do, we expect you to quietly behave yourself in here." He moved to leave the room. "If something comes up, we'll call for you."

As Sai looked around his small and dull quarters, he asked, "Did the news of her betrayal not spread yet? How come I did not hear of it?"

"_Her_?" Kabuto asked, stopping in his tracks. "_Oh_! You mean the Haruno girl… She's here but not by her own will, if that's what you're asking."

"You've captured her?" Sai raised an eyebrow.

"Captured, invited, welcomed… Call it whatever you want. Orochimaru just keeps her here as an honored guest. I suppose he thinks Sasuke-kun needs the entertainment. I don't understand it myself. If it were up to me, she'd be dead by now. But Sasuke wants to keep her alive, so no one touches her. She's very troublesome actually, trying to escape every now and then…" Kabuto shrugged, walking out of the room. "Sorry to have to do this, but I'm going to have to lock this door from the outside. After all, you're… Well, you understand."

Sai had no protests as Kabuto shut the door. When he knew the door was locked, Sai pressed his ear against the wooden structure. Kabuto's footsteps were getting further and further away…

Sai backed away from the door and took out a small book from his backpack. He flipped through the pages, reading the information on them.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

The door creaked open, and Sai quickly stuffed the book back into his bag.

"And look who we have here…"

And in came Yamato, Naruto, and Hinata.

Sai smiled. "The Hokage-controlled ANBU, impressive as always…"

"Why don't you tell us about what's going on here?" Yamato suggested, but Naruto had other plans.

"_You_!" he yelled, grabbing the collar of Sai's shirt. "Why did you betray us?"

"You shouldn't make too much noise here," Sai said. "It'll mean trouble."

"Why, you—"

"Na-Naruto-kun!"

Naruto held his glare for a few more seconds before releasing the Root member.

"Here," Hinata said to Sai. She held his picture book in her hand. "We found this. I believe this belongs to you."

"Thank you," Sai gladly took back his novelette.

"You're . . . you're here under Danzo's orders, right?" Hinata asked. "Danzo's planning something through working with Orochimaru . . . and you were chosen as the go-between. What is it that he's planning?"

Sai didn't answer.

"He's plotting the destruction of Konoha, right? Another war with Oto?"

". . . No, actually—"

"We all already know of your fake smiles!" Naruto yelled. "And the same goes for the lies you force them through!"

"My mission ended in failure the moment you found me," Sai explained. "And I can't very well take the three of you on by myself, so . . . since you already know so much, there isn't much reason to hide things anymore. Just as you say, we're going to destroy Konoha as it exists."

"Why, _you_…" Naruto's hands rolled into fists.

"We wanted to weaken Tsunade's political power, so we sent her apprentice away. She should be dead by now."

Naruto's fists shook.

"But in order to completely destroy Konoha, I was to gain Orochimaru's favor thus giving us a chance for us to ally with him. That was my true mission."

"Keep talking," Yamato commanded, pointing a kunai at Sai. "Tell us everything you know."

"_You_… Do you even _realize_ what you're saying?" Naruto asked. "What it means—"

"That wasn't all," Sai continued. "I was also supposed to secretly transmit information on Orochimaru to Danzo-sama. In other words, I was also assigned a mission of espionage."

"So the mission was to ally with the enemy, then use and outwit him in the end… And that enemy is Orochimaru?" Hinata asked. "It's a dangerous mission…"

"Once Konoha falls, Orochimaru is guaranteed to betray us in the end. My mission was intended to allow us to always stay one step ahead of him."

"Danzo wants to make Konoha his own, obviously." Yamato said. "And you, on your own, were assigned a mission to make that possible."

"I was singled out due to the special abilities I have," Sai explained. "The ink I write with becomes small, living animals. They protect themselves from harm as they carry information out to their destination."

"If Konoha becomes a stage of battle again, countless of people . . . so many of them will die!" Hinata said. "What you're trying to do is going to have very real consequences! Do you . . . do you even understand that?"

Sai just shrugged. "I just follow my orders."

"Sai . . . you're—"

"Just to let you know, _'Sai'_ is just a name that was assigned to me merely for the purpose of this mission. In reality, I'm nobody. I am nothing more than a tool for Danzo-sama. I don't really exist. As such, whatever you say to me, it means nothing."

"In that case," Hinata said, "Tell me why you care so much about that picture book you carry around with you!"

Sai had no answer. He hadn't expected that question. He looked down at the book he held in his hand.

"The two children on the covers, that's you and your brother, right?" Hinata asked. "You carry that around because that's the only thing left that proves you really do exist, am I correct? You didn't manage to get rid of your emotions despite what you say. Even for us shinobi, abandoning our emotions completely is impossible."

". . . Please explain," Sai said. "Why would carrying this book serve to prove my existence?"

"The reason why you refuse to let go of that book is precisely because you find yourself unable to forget your existence as someone's brother. Do you understand _why_?"

Hinata took Sai's silence as a no.

"It's because your bonds with your brother are very important to you."

Sai's eyes widened.

"The reality is that you don't want to erase the bonds between you and your brother."

"Bonds…"

"Sorry to say, but we took a little peak at the contents of that book." Yamato said. "The picture on the two pages in the center is the only part of the book unfinished. Judging from the rest of the book, you and your brother would have ended up fighting on those center pages. Sai, I know that you are a part of ANBU's Root, and I know that Danzo has given you special training to relive you of your emotions—training identical to that of the godforsaken tradition that was once practiced in Kiri, the village of bloody mist. Sai, your brother was killed by none other than y—"

"You're _wrong_!" Sai said. "I had intended to give this as a gift to my brother but, just when I was about to complete it, my brother . . . he died of illness." And he said this with a smile. "We weren't connected by blood, but he complimented me quite a bit on my drawings. Root was filled with a great number of children who had been separated from their families due to battles, and I had gotten close with one of those children, calling him my brother. This picture book… The picture I wanted to show my brother the most, the one in the center… I . . . after my brother died, I couldn't seem to recall what I wanted to draw."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Once Kabuto unlocked the door, he walked in. Nobody was there, and he knew something was up.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Unfortunately," Yamato said to the now tied-up Sai. They were just outside Orochimaru's hideout. "We're going to have to leave you here with my clone to watch you."

"_Hmp_!" Naruto cracked his knuckles. "Now to get back to what we came here for. It's time to rescue Sasuke!"

Sai just stared at Naruto and then looked down. "It'd be better if you gave up now," he said.

"I met Sasuke-kun," he continued, shocking the blonde. "Orochimaru is _always_ with him. If you continue to go after him, the best you'll manage is being torn to shreds and turned into guinea pigs. Besides, Hinata-san said that you care for Sasuke-kun as though he were your own brother, but he said he doesn't care about you anymore… And despite that, do you really intend to go up against Orochimaru of all people, just for _him_? You're going to put your life on the line just to get him back? Why? It's not like you've been ordered to do this."

Naruto smiled. "Way back when, I used to hate him but, when I got used to being with him, I realized he's really a lot of fun to be around. He's the person that, more than anyone else, accepted me and my existence. Sasuke is my friend, and he represents bonds that I waited so long to receive, so that's why…"

_Bonds…_

"Plus, I made a promise to Sakura-chan! I'll make sure he's back in Konoha, waiting for her just like everyone else!"

". . . Are you sure this Sakura-chan is trustworthy?" Sai asked. "How would you know? She's just another person. Who's to say that she'd—"

"Of all people, she's the _last_ person who'd betray me! I trust her as much as I trust Hinata-chan here!"

_Na-Naruto-kun… _Hinata almost blushed.

"Still, all for a promise…" Sai continued. "That's not much of a reason especially if it means going up with people like Orochimaru…"

"I don't care who I have to fight. If he rips my arms off, I'll kick him to death! If he rips my legs off, I'll bite him to death! If he rips my head off, I'll stare him to death and, if he gouges my eyes, I'll curse him to death! Even if I'm torn to shreds, I'll find a way to take Sasuke back, no matter what!"

* * *

**[1] = a haiku by Basho**

**I really hated this chapter… It was boring… There's nothing really fun… I really hope the next chapter will be… Sorry you guys for this really boring chapter! I promise the next one shall show a bit more NaruHina, it _will_ be a bit more exciting! Thank you and please review!**

* * *

**POLLS!**

**Since they're going to meet up with Sasuke soon, I'm going to need some ideas of how that how go. With Hinata there, there's bound to be a huge difference. So what do you think I should do for it? Write down any suggestions in your reviews.**


	9. Episode 9

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**Okay, I put up another chapter. Hopefully, this one isn't as boring as the last one. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Episode Nine

~Sai's True Mission, Sasuke's Power~

"We're going as soon as my clone's ready." Yamato said.

Hinata and Naruto were in agreement. However, the Hyuga heiress didn't really think it was right to leave Sai there just like that. What if he was attacked? Sure, he was a jerk, but she didn't think Naruto would live with it if Sai were killed because of their decision.

The team suddenly jumped out of the way of a kunai shower. Kabuto appeared.

"Sai," he said, "Judging from your situation, I suppose this means you were captured. Since it doesn't seem like you've betrayed us, I'll trust you . . . for now." And he cut Sai's ropes.

"If you two are going to stand in my way then I'm not going to hold back!" Naruto said.

Kabuto started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Watching you truly makes me feel pity!" the medic said. "People change. Sasuke is no longer the Sasuke you knew."

And then, the unexpected happened. Sai got behind Kabuto and put a kunai to the medic's neck.

"What the? What are you doing?"

"You say people change, and here I am."

"_What_?"

"But there are also things that don't change."

"Sai…" Naruto was completely shocked. "What are—"

"Bonds… I want to see what they're really made of." the Root member said.

"Sai! Just keep him like that!" Yamato said as he made hand signs. A block of wood shot out from the ground and wrapped itself around the Oto-nin.

"Sai, why did you—"

"Why is it that you place so much value in the bonds between you and Sasuke-kun?" Sai asked Naruto. "What exactly are those bonds you speak of? I decided that I needed to know the answer. According to the two of you, I've been unable to get rid of the bonds that formed between me and my brother. If those bonds are so important to me then I might be able to figure something out if I see the _'bonds'_ between you and Sasuke-kun. That's all…"

Kabuto started laughing then. "The four of you don't know the real Sasuke-kun…"

"What are you laughing about _now_?" Naruto asked.

"Tell us where Sasuke is," Yamato said.

"He should be done with his training about now back in his inner chamber. There is a large number of rooms strewn all throughout the lair. If you end up looking in each as you go, you might find him. Still, if you aren't careful, you might chance upon a snake as well. Orochimaru-sama keeps his quarters in the same area, after all."

"I thank you for being so honest," Hinata said.

"Oh, no, you really shouldn't be thanking me."

"You expect us, the hunters, to become the prey then?" Yamato asked.

"Precisely. After all, fights aren't decided until the very end."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura kept pacing around. Her arms crossed, she bit the bottom of her lip. She was worried. If Sai was there then Naruto and Hinata would be coming shortly. If they were to misunderstand her motives for even being in that place then… She shook her head. She was too afraid to even think of their reactions.

She could always escape… After all, Sasuke had left her in that room alone to go who knows where. In the end, she decided on another escape attempt. She was about to turn the door knob when it turned by itself.

She almost gasped. She quickly pressed herself against the wall. The door opened, almost hitting her in the process. She held her breath.

"Nope, not in here."

"That's it for this floor. Let's try the next floor."

And the door shut.

Sakura fell to her knees. Was that Naruto? Working with Sai? _So . . . he didn't betray them, after all…_ She was glad, but now she was a bit worried. If she were to escape now, she'd be spotted. And not only would she be spotted, but her cover of going to visit her relatives would have been exposed.

Oh, god! What was she to do now?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Oh, jeez… You two are so alike…" Sai said. Naruto and he were taking a break since they had run non-stop, searching all the rooms on that floor. "You and my brother… I mean, he was loud and impatient, unrefined…" He took out the picture book from his backpack. "But still, just like you, he took on anything he did with everything he had. Watching you somehow brings back memories of—"

He stopped, talking then. He took out a pencil and opened the book to its unfinished pages, drawing as fast as he could.

"Sai, what—"

"I remembered," the Root member said, "I remembered what I wanted to draw…"

The finished picture showed the two brothers smiling and holding hands.

"I wanted to show my brother this… This picture of our dream…"

"Well, then, Sai…" Orochimaru was suddenly there. "Which side do you intend to take?" He attacked, but Naruto and Sai jumped back. "Looks like you choose to side with them, Sai . . . or whoever you are."

"I'll deal with things here," Naruto said. "Sai, you go look for Sasuke!"

But Sai didn't move.

"_NOW_!"

"Ok… I'll find and rescue Sasuke-kun…" And he took off.

"So . . . you've come to take Sasuke-kun back, have you? I must admit, you do have conviction, but do you truly think things will turn out so well?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yeah, I do!" Naruto yelled, making a hand sign. "First, I'll defeat you! Then, I'll take Sasuke back!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sai came to a stop. There were two hallways. Which one should he take? In the end, he decided to use his ninjutsu. He took out a scroll and started painting a few dozen of mice. They came to life and started the search.

He heard footsteps and quickly turned around, kunai in his hand.

"_You_…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Oh, my… What happened to all that spunk you had a moment ago?"

Naruto was now feeling the stress of having used the Kyuubi's chakra before. It was hard for him to move too quickly.

"Naruto-kun!"

Hinata and Yamato came then.

"So it's Orochimaru again…"

At the sight of Naruto's backup, the Sanin was now bored. "Naruto-kun, I'll let you live for the time being. Just try and make sure you kill at least another Akatsuki member for me. But more importantly, I have business to take care of with Sai, so if you'll excuse me…" And he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hinata let out a sigh of relief. Of course, she had been worried. If this battle had turned out to be just like the last one, she wouldn't know what to do…

"Where's Sai?" Yamato asked.

"He went to look for Sasuke," Naruto said. "We need to do something before Orochimaru finds him!"

"Hey… What's this?" Hinata asked, picking up a book from the floor.

"Was that from Sai's bag?" Yamato asked.

"I believe so…" the Hyuga answered, looking through it. Her eyes widened at the contents.

"What is it, Hinata-chan?"

"Naruto-kun… This . . . this is a Bingo Book… And Sasuke-kun's picture is in here…"

"_What_?"

"So it all makes sense now…" Yamato said.

"What makes sense?" Naruto asked.

"Sai's mission . . . it wasn't to be the go-between for Orochimaru and Danzo at all. His top secret mission is the assassination of Uchiha Sasuke."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I don't understand you _at all_…" Sakura said, glaring at the boy in front of her. She took off the hood of her cloak. "First, you're recruited by Danzo to be Naruto's new teammate. Then, you stage a betrayal… And now what are you doing? Are you just leading Naruto and them on or something? Are you trying to get them _killed_?"

"I don't need to answer to you," Sai said, seeing her massaging her right arm. "Your arm is injured, is it not?"

Sakura didn't say anything, glancing down at her arm. Was that the look of disguist she had on?

"Why are you up? Is this another one of your escape attempts?"

". . . Yes."

"You're unsure."

"_What_?" Sakura almost scoffed.

"If you really were trying to escape, you'd be doing everything in your power to accomplish that. And doing everything in your power would mean getting Naruto-kun's help, does it not?"

". . . He doesn't know I'm Konoha's hunter-nin."

". . . Ah… I guess that _does_ pose as quite the problem, but lingering around is not going to do you any good."

"I'm not stupid. I know that . . . but Naruto's . . . he's reckless. I want to make sure he's okay before I decide anything." And then she turned to leave.

"I thought I owed you a death…"

The kunoichi stopped in her tracks. ". . . You didn't betray Naruto completely… But if you continue to work under Danzo's influence and wind up hurting either him or Hinata,"—she turned back to glare at him—"I won't let you go next time…"

And with that, she turned the corner, putting her hood back on.

Sai went back to finding the Uchiha. He concentrated and waited. It was only a matter of time before… _Found you!_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Who's there?"

"Caught me red-handed," Sai said from the door. "Still, I've acquired the upper hand here."

"What is it you want?"

"I intend to bring you back to Konoha!" the ANBU Roots member said. "Although I did originally come here to kill you, I want to see if I can protect those bonds between you and him that he holds so strongly…"

"_Bonds_…? You woke me up to talk about bonds…?" The anger in the Uchiha's voice was evident.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As the team kept searching the hallways, they heard a loud explosion.

"What was that?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura, too, had heard it._ Damn it… He can be so cranky when he wakes up… Looks like he blew up his room this time… _She sighed. _Guess I better go back before he turns that anger on me… Damn that stupid Uchiha and his _wonderful_ way of expression things…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"You live up to your reputation… To be able to overpower my jutsu is quite something." Sai said, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"Sai!"

The artist turned to the doorway. The Hyuga stopped right in front of him.

"What exactly . . . are you trying to do?" she asked him, trying to catch her breath from running so much.

"So . . . it's the Hyuga brat?"

Hinata's eyes widened at the sound. _That voice… Is it really…? _She turned and looked up. Much to Naruto's surprise (he was still in the hallway), Hinata called out to his ex-teammate. "Sasuke-kun…"

Naruto bolted then into the clearing, and his eyes followed Hinata's gaze. "Sasuke…"

"Naruto, so you came too?" the Uchiha asked. "Then should I be expecting Kakashi?"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Yamato said, walking out of the doorway. "But Kakashi couldn't be here unfortunately, but I'm here in his place. We, Team Kakashi, are going to be taking you back to Konoha."

"Team Kakashi, huh? If I remember correctly, _Sakura_ was the kunoichi on the team, not the Hyuga. Whatever happened to her? Died already? She was always weak…"

Naruto clenched his fists. "You have no idea what you're talking about… She's out on leave…"

_So he's not going to risk exposing her… Perhaps there's something going on. _Sai thought, watching the Uchiha carefully. He unsheathed the short sword on his back.

"Sai!" Hinata exclaimed.

"So he's my replacement then, is he?" Sasuke asked. "He was spouting some kind of nonsense between Naruto and me. One more pansy for the group, quite the fit I'm sure."

"It's true that my top-secret mission was to assassinate Uchiha Sasuke," Sai told the team. "But those orders don't matter anymore. Now I want to think and act for myself. Because of Naruto-kun, I feel like I might be able to remember something… Remember how I used to feel before… Something which I can't help but feel was very important to me before…" He pointed the sword at the Uchiha. "I may not know you all that well, but I know there's a reason why Naruto-kun chases after you with so much passion. In order to prevent his bonds with you from being broken, in order to keep them intact, he's doing everything he can. I still don't have a good understanding of it myself but you, Sasuke-kun, should have a good understanding of it yourself."

"Sure, I did, and that's why I severed them. I have other bonds to carry now. Fraternal bonds, forged through hatred… Having too many bonds causes one to lose focus, weakening their strongest wish, their greatest desire…"

"That's true…" Naruto said after much consideration. "But if that's true then why didn't you kill me back then when we fought? Is that what you call _'severing bonds'_, Sasuke?"

"The reason is simple, and it wasn't that I wasn't able to severe my bond with you. I simply didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing me attain power by submitting to his plans."

"What do you mean by that?"

"There's no need for me to tell you… Still, the one thing I can say to you is that, back then, I spared you on nothing more than a whim of mine." And in a split second, the Uchiha was standing with the group, right in front of Naruto with his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

_He's fast… _Yamato thought. _When did he…?_

"Come to think of it, isn't becoming Hokage a dream of yours?" Sasuke asked of his ex-teammate. "If you had the time to be looking for me, you would have been better off training. Don't you think, Naruto? And that's why, this time, you're going to lose your life, all at a whim of mine." He unsheathed his sword.

"Like there's any chance that someone who couldn't even save his best friend would become Hokage, right, Sasuke?"

But as Sasuke brought his sword close to Naruto's neck, Sai jumped in the way, grabbing Sasuke's arm. Naruto quickly flipped so that he was behind the Uchiha. And using this distraction, Yamato quickly made his hand signs. But Sasuke was a step in front of them. Without making any hand signs, he used a jutsu, his Chidori Nagashi, and lightning shot out of his body. Even Yamato was shocked into a frozen stance when he saw Sai and Naruto being deflected to the ground.

During this time, Hinata's Byakugan had activated. _The Chidori coming out of his body… What incredible chakra… I can't waste any time… _"Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists!" Her chakra surrounded her hands in the forms of lions, and she thrust forward.

Though she had Sasuke dodging for a while, it only meant that he had more time to send his chakra through his sword. Hinata saw this with her Byakugan but, when she realized what he was doing, she had no time to dodge. And when he was about to stab her through the heart, Yamato stood in the way, protecting the Hyuga heiress.

"Yamato-taichou!"

The Uchiha smirked. "Your choice of defense, quite the mistake… You see, the Kusangi I hold here is a little special. It's the kind that can't be blocked."

_Body's going numb… Is he sending his Chidori through his sword?_ Yamato thought, observing the blade. So _that's it… By doing so, not only does it make the sword extremely sharp, he also deprives his opponent from freedom of movement through numbness…_

"Enough, Sasuke."

The voice was high, reedy, and commanding with a transient gentleness to it, and it came from the side of the battlefield. A small, dark figure came out of the passageway Team Yamato had; an elegant black cloak covered the person's body, a veil over their face. However, the Konoha nin even Naruto who was now struggling to control himself were able to tell that it was a _she_. Her voice sounded more of a soprano than it did bass, her waist too slim, her chest too busty, and her gait was too graceful; not to mention the fact that guys did not wear high-heeled boots—at least, not the normal ones.

She stopped right in front of the Uchiha. Apparently, she had a death wish. Sai watched on with anticipation. If his observation from been right from the first time he seen these two together then perhaps she could tip the balance towards their favor.

Sasuke's blazing eyes shifted towards her. "You were to stay _in_ your room." The pretense of civility had disappeared. His voice was flat and icy.

The girl was not fazed even in the least. "Can't you _behave_ yourself?" she asked, teasing him. Her hand extended out of the safety of her cloak; a strange tattoo decorated her arm.

_So that's why she kept caressing her arm before… _Sai thought._ Just what is that strange mark?_

She rested her hand on top of Sasuke's, on the hand that held his katana. She glanced over at the Hyuga then back to the Uchiha. "There _are_ ladies present."

Team Yamato watched on in astonishment. How was she—a hidden, undersized (compared to Sasuke), and possibly fragile girl—able to cause a moment's hesitation in the Uchiha? And if it was because of a whim then screw the f***ing Uchiha. (A/N: Sorry, I only curse in my character quotes, not in the narration of my stories.)

"Heh, you have an ulterior motive" were his words before he stabbed his sword deeper into Yamato.

"I only came to check out the explosion. Thought you blew yourself up; now, I'm wishing you _did_." The girl's nails dug into Sasuke's hand, but that only added to his suspicions.

"Then explain why you're getting so worked up."

"Because . . ." she said, her grip loosening. "You don't trust me." It was at that moment when she felt that same burning sensation on her left wrist—of which, may I add, that she keeping hidden from Hinata's view as she would be able to recognize the bracelet she wore—from earlier that day. She quickly glanced over at Naruto. Her worry confirmed.

Hinata followed the girl's gaze, her own eyes widening. "Naruto-kun!" She ran to his side. _This isn't good… Should I block his chakra points before the Kyuubi's chakra spreads? If I do that then he'll be totally defenseless against Sasuke…_

In his head, the ramen-loving ninja was arguing with the Kyuubi.

_**This is your chance, Naruto… **_the fox said. _**Show him… Make him see how our powers are not to be trifled with…**_

But Naruto didn't say anything back.

_**What's wrong? Why the hesitation? **_the Kyuubi asked, forming outside of his prison. **_You need my power, right? Well then, who do you want to kill?_**

"Your face! I don't want to see it anymore!" Naruto yelled.

_**Why is it that you grow fearful?**_

"Shut up! I don't need your power anymore!"

But the Kyuubi laughed. _**Oh, really? Then remind me… Who was it that came here, shouting, "Lend me your power," every time something came up? You should know that you can't do a damn thing without me! Remove this seal once and for all! If you do then I'll entrust all of my power to you…**_

"Get lost!"

But it was then that a shocking (A/N: and I use that word loosely) visitor came into Naruto's mind.

_**Ah, so you're an Uchiha… Congratulations on making it this far…**_

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked.

"I'm able to see it now…" the Uchiha said. "So this was your secret power then… It's hard to believe that something like this existed inside of you." And then…

_Pop!_

The Kyuubi was gone.

_**Unbelievable… To think you'd be able to suppress my power… I may not see you again, but . . . I warn you… Don't kill Naruto… You'll end up regretting it…**_

And now, back to outside of Naruto's mind, the cloaked woman and Hinata just stared in awe as Naruto returned back to normal.

_The Kyuubi's chakra…_ Hinata glanced back at the Uchiha. _Just what did he do?_

It was then that Yamato decided to get the sword out of his chest. A wooden block pushed the sword out, surprising both Sasuke and his companion. And suddenly, a large wooden structure enclosed on them. But the Uchiha broke out of that, bringing the cloaked girl with him. They landed on higher ground.

"Why don't you get it?" Naruto yelled. "Your body's going to be stolen by Orochimaru anytime now!"

"If that happens then it happens…"

His answer shocked everyone there even the girl under the cloak. Sakura, though, pretended as if she didn't care. She shouldn't… After all, this battle clearly showed he'd kill them if given the chance… She wanted to scream to Naruto to let go of his promise that he made her… But she was too worried, too scared, about his reaction to finding out that it was she under that cloak.

"You're still quite the kid, Naruto." Sasuke continued. "Revenge means everything to me. As long as I can have my revenge, I could care less what happens to me or the whole world, for that matter. Let me make it clear for you: For both me and Orochimaru right now, killing Itachi is impossible. But if I am able to accomplish that goal through nothing more than offering Orochimaru this body of mine then he can have my life and my afterlife."

This was when Naruto would've gone Kyuubi. _How could he even think like that? Just how could he be so consumed by his hatred?_

"Konoha, indeed… I'm through with you."

Hinata, unlike everyone else, however, watched the woman carefully as the Uchiha spoke. _Just who exactly is she? A friend? No, if Sasuke had severed his bonds then he wouldn't be making new ones… _She tried to stare past the hood's veil as the woman's fist clenched at the words that were just said. But did her eyes deceive her? Were those _Sakura's_ emerald green eyes she saw?

Without thinking, the words just came out of her mouth. "Sakura-san?"

Sakura's heart almost stopped when she heard Hinata's words. Apparently, she had not count on the fact that Hinata's eyes would be so sharp as to make out her physical features. But now what? What could she do?

Sakura could feel her body tremble. She glanced over at Naruto. _Don't look at me with those eyes… Please…_

"It would appear you're not as good an actress as you think…" Sasuke's words knocked her back into reality.

"Shut up! I don't . . ." She glanced at the Hyuga. "I don't know what she's talking about!" she lied. "I've never seen them in my life before!"

"Suit yourself…" And the Uchiha started making hand signs. "This ends here…"

* * *

**Whew! This chapter is done… I got to say, I really don't like this whole confrontation… I wanted to change it some way to incorporate Hinata more, but then it would be giving out too much from the surprise you guys are going to get in the later chapters. I just wonder if this is a better chapter… Hinata's going to act out more in the next chapter… I hope…**


	10. Episode 10

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**Yay! I finally have this chapter up! I'm sorry I took forever, but my ideas ran dry all of the sudden. It was _horrible_! I couldn't think of _anything_. Really, I had this whole writer's block, and so I've decided to skip that whole scene with Orochimaru coming to stop Sasuke from killing off his teammates. But don't worry, peoples! I might come up with something and put it in _Shinobi, Heart Under Blade_, kay? I'll tell you when I've put it up. I'm so sorry, peoples! But my mom has also forbidden me to go on the computer on school days, so that puts a _HUGE_ dent on things. I don't know if I can find the time to update any time soon. But I promise I will have a new chapter up before the end of the year, kay? Thank you and please enjoy!**

* * *

Episode Ten

~His Worries, Her Doubts, and Hinata's advice~

As Hinata passed the ramen shop, her gaze dropped when she didn't see Naruto there. How long had it been since their failed attempt to bring Sasuke back? Maybe . . . almost a _week_? She sighed. She couldn't blame Naruto for being so down. After all, they've waited for so long for that one chance… Who knew how long it'd be before they'd get another shot at getting the Uchiha back? And with everything that had happened during their meeting, she was surprised that Naruto could still believe that Sasuke could be brought back. She believed it too, but . . . Naruto just seemed to be a hundred percent sure… How could he? With all that's happened…

Hinata slowly made her way towards Naruto's home, but she knew she wouldn't find him there. He _always_ wasn't whenever she'd go look for him. After all, he was still mad at her for insinuating that Sakura was with Sasuke and Orochimaru. She really couldn't blame him. She _did_ make a _huge_ jump on that matter. The girl wasn't Sakura. In fact, if she had been, how could she have let Sasuke take things so far? If he had released his jutsu, Naruto would've been _dead_ already…

Hinata shook her head. She didn't even want to _think_ about that. She couldn't even begin to wonder how Sasuke could fall so far as to kill his friend. And if Sakura were to see that… She couldn't even imagine Sakura's pain or how guilty she'd feel for asking Naruto to bring Sasuke back…

Hinata sighed. Things weren't going so well at all… She wondered if the news got to Sakura yet. Hinata could only picture Sakura's tears. After all, she was the one hurting the most when Sasuke had left Konoha. If she were to find out about Sasuke's trying to kill Naruto then… She really didn't want to think about how upset Sakura would be, if she were to blame herself, or even if she were to tell Naruto to stop trying to fulfill his promise. Sakura would be a wreck, and Hinata didn't want to know anymore but that.

When she arrived at Naruto's apartment, she knocked on the door. No answer. She sighed and knocked once more. Still no answer. She knocked once more, and still no answer. But this time, she was going to make herself heard. She wouldn't take any more of Naruto's ignoring her. She turned the door knob. Luckily, Naruto had left his apartment unlocked, and she walked in. The sight she was met with . . . let's just say it wasn't good.

Hinata placed her hands on her hips and sighed. "Well, I guess I can do some cleaning for him since he's out…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I have a favor to ask you."

"A favor, you say?"

"I would like to be allowed to remain on Team Kakashi for the time being, with my name as it is…" Sai said.

Danzo was shocked by Sai's remark. _What is this smile of his…? _He had never seen Sai smile so . . . so _gentle_ before… It wasn't one of his fake smiles. No, this was the real thing this time. But nevertheless, he gave his answer. "Yes, I've been informed by Tsunade. However, let me remind you, Sai… Emotions lead one to hate, and hate leads to conflict and war.

"That may be the case…"

"Oh, and another thing… Did you meet up with Tsunade's apprentice? That Sakura girl?"

". . ." For a while, Sai didn't say anything—his smile dropping. What should he say?

_Sai smiled at her. "So you must be Tsunade's student… Danzo told me I might meet up with you…"_

_Sakura didn't say anything, her ears catching onto the name of Sai's superior._

_"He told me to kill you if I get the chance."_

"Well, did you, Sai?"

"No, I didn't…"

"_Oh_? And why is that, you suppose?" Danzo chuckled. "Maybe she really did get herself killed already… I knew she couldn't handle such a job."

"_Actually_," Sai said, "It seems to me that she didn't tell Naruto about her mission. He and Hinata seem to be under the impression that she's visiting family members in other villages besides the ones in the Fire Country. She must have been staying out of our way so as to avoid the confrontation that would have surely insured if Naruto was to find out she had been lying to him."

". . . _I see_…" Danzo took a deep breath. "That will be all… You're dismissed."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura laid back on the bed, rolling to her side. She still couldn't forget the events that had happened days ago. How could Sasuke…? How could he try to kill _Naruto_? She never thought the day would come… Had her assumption been wrong? Perhaps Sasuke really was beyond saving now…

She buried her head in the pillow she hugged and groaned. Could so much have changed? Was Sasuke really worth saving now? Was he worth all this pain and sadness? All of this sorrow and trouble?

She heard Kiki bark.

"Oh, Kiki…" she said. "I really don't know what to do anymore… Am I just wasting my time staying here? Should I just leave?"

Kiki stayed quiet. Suddenly, her ears perked up.

Sakura gasped, and her eyes widened at the sight but, before she could react, Sasuke was already in the room. She sat up, glaring at the man before her. Ever since he had tried to kill Naruto, she had doubts about him now. Would he try and kill her too?

He smirked at the fearful look in Sakura's eyes. It was about time she knew how dangerous he was. But there was this small part of him that was disgusted by the look she was giving him. It was almost as if she thought he'd kill her…

The two just stared at each other, each unmoving from their frozen stances. Kiki, too, stayed quiet, wondering what would happen. The awkward silence in the room was thick enough to suffocate a small child. It took a while, but Sasuke finally left to take a shower. "Go to sleep," he had told her. However, in the few short seconds before he left, Sakura could have sworn his eyes softened.

She sighed, her hand caressed her arm. It still hurt… But she knew that, as long as she had the curse mark, Sasuke had power over her. And being that, he had use for her… He wouldn't harm her in any way until she had finally outlived her usefulness. But for some reason, some part of her believed that there was _another_ reason as to why she was allowed live… Was there something she was missing?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

When Naruto opened the door to his apartment, the first thing he noticed was that his room was actually clean for the first time since Sakura had left. He could actually see the floor again! His first thought was that Sakura was back but, when his eyes landed on Hinata's sleeping form, his eyes softened. _So she was the one who cleaned this place up…_

He felt bad for her. She was the Hyuga _heiress_, after all. She probably had maidservants to do the cleaning at her house. She probably never even picked up a broom before. So now that she cleaned his room…

Naruto almost groaned. He had been looking for her all over the village! How could he forget to check right under his nose? If he had gotten here sooner then she wouldn't have needed to trouble herself especially since she thought he was still mad at her…

Naruto sighed as he sat on his bed beside the sleeping girl. The little movement caused her to stir. And in a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, and they immediately began to search the room. And when she saw Naruto, she smiled.

"Naruto-kun…"

". . . Gomennasai, Hinata-chan…"

His sentence left the groggy girl confused. "Huh? Wh-what do you mean, Naruto-kun? Why are you apologizing?"

"For getting mad at you… I had no reason to be mad at you."

"That's . . . that's okay, Naruto-kun!" she said as she sat up, a bit relieved too. A small part of her had been frightened. She had thought that he wanted her off of his team. "It was my fault anyway! I made that horrible implication without anything to go on. It should be _me_ who's apologizing, not you! I—"

But Naruto just shook his head. "It's not your fault… I thought the same thing too when I saw that girl's eyes… I just . . . I just didn't _want_ to believe it… I didn't want to believe both of my teammates have…" He couldn't even bring himself to finish that sentence.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata hugged him, embracing him tightly. "You don't _need_ to believe it… That girl… She wasn't Sakura… Sakura could _never_ leave you… Sakura would _never_ betray us… You know that, don't you?"

"But . . . she _loves_ him, Hinata… She loves _him_! She _always_ has…"

"Well then, if you . . . if you really think that . . . and if you _really_ love her then you'll bring Sasuke back for her… Never give up, Naruto-kun… Sasuke will come home one day… And we'll wait together with him for Sakura to come back, too."

"But Sasuke's—"

"Don't you ever give up on bringing him back! Because he _will_ come back one day!" Hinata snapped, her eyes bore into Naruto's. "He'll . . . he'll come back, and you'll become Hokage, and he and Sakura will get together, and Sai won't be such an ass anymore, and everyone can get the happy ending they want! Don't give up, Naruto-kun… _Never_ give up!"

Naruto smiled and returned Hinata's hug. "Arigato, Hinata-chan…"

And throughout this whole conversation, Hinata didn't faint, not even _once_.

✿｡.:***The Next Day***:.｡✿

As Sai sat in his apartment, he did nothing but stare at the words he had written on his last mission. Friends…

_"Do you even know what the word _'companion'_ means?" Naruto asked as he released Sai._

_"Of course, I know." Sai said as he wrote the word on one of his scrolls. "What about it?"_

He put down the scroll, smiling. Companions… Such a strange thing… They came in so many different forms… The first picture that came to his mind was that of his brother, and the second picture was of Team Kakashi—Yamato, Hinata, and Naruto. They . . . they were his companions…

However, his thoughts went back to his meeting with Danzo earlier that day.

_"Oh, and another thing… Did you meet up with Tsunade's apprentice? That Sakura girl?"_

_"No, I didn't…"_

He didn't know why he lied to his superior. After all, what did he owe that girl? They didn't even get off to a good start. If he remembered correctly, they both aspired to _kill_ each other. Hm… Perhaps, he did it for Naruto's sake… After all, he _had_ betrayed the ramen-loving shinobi. Maybe this would be his way of repaying his debt.

_"I don't understand you _at all_…" Sakura said, glaring at the boy in front of her. She took off the hood of her cloak. "First, you're recruited by Danzo to be Naruto's new teammate. Then, you stage a betrayal… And now what are you doing? Are you just leading Naruto and them on or something? Are you trying to get them _killed_?"_

_"I don't need to answer to you," Sai said. "I thought I owed you a death…"_

_The kunoichi stopped in her tracks. ". . . You didn't betray Naruto completely… But if you continue to work under Danzo's influence and wind up hurting either him or Hinata,"—she turned back to glare at him—"I won't let you go next time…"_

And as Sai picked up his paintbrush, his smile continued to stay on his face. _Well, it looks like you won't be able to hold anything against me anymore, Sakura-san…_

"Hey! Sai!"

"_Hm_?" He looked out the window to see Team Kakashi there.

"Come on!" Naruto yelled out to him. "We have a team meeting! Hurry it up!"

And Sai was out of the room in minutes. But if you were to look around his room, the scroll with the word "_companions_" or rather "_friends_" on it was sitting right below the window sill. And if you were to look out that window then you'd see Sai walking over to where his friends were waiting for him.

* * *

**Okay… The chapter's done, but now that I look over it . . . it's _sooo_ CRAPPY and so SHORT! I should've done something else! I should've made this longer, but it's un-expandable! I can't believe how bad this is! I'm so sorry, you guys! I just wanted to get this chapter out of the way and update it for you guys! I hope I did better than I thought…**

**Oh, and wait a minute! I made four new oneshots. Please read them if you get the chance or if you just want to pass the time waiting for the next chapter of _Mirrorcle World_. If you like _Howl's Moving Castle _then you'll like my _Momentum_ oneshot. If you like _Spirited Away _then please check out _Real Emotion _and _Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave_. And if you like SasuSaku, please read _Always with you _and 영원한사랑& 여성시대. And if you like NaruHina, please read _Appears_. (I think I've asked you to read that oneshot already though.) Thank you and please review!**

* * *

**POLLS!**

**Hey, should I skip some of the boring parts and go on to some of the better parts? Like skip Asuma's death and add some extra stuff? And should I skip more parts until I catch up with the _Naruto_ manga?**

**Also, please give me your opinions on how I can make this story better.**


	11. Episode 11

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

* * *

**_Finally_! I got a new chapter up! Sorry it took so long to update, but I had to get my ideas organized. It's a bit shorter than I would have liked, but I think it's a bit longer than the last one. Sorry, but nevertheless . . . try to enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Episode Eleven

~Ino's sorrow, Jiraiya's mess-up~

There was a light tap on the window. Hinata looked up and gave a small smile when she saw the knucklehead ninja outside. She excused herself from the room and ran out the door. Everything had been so hectic. She hadn't seen Naruto in almost a week already—not including the battle only a day ago. And so, for a split second, Hinata forgot about her troubles and genuinely smiled but only just for a split second. The events that had just only occurred were still fresh in everyone's minds especially the funeral. It was hard to smile for long.

"How is she?"

Hinata just shook her head, her concern shown on her face. "They've already taken care of the ones that . . . that caused it, but Asuma's death . . . it hit her the hardest." She looked back into the building through the window and sighed. "Though she's accepted it already, it's still a harsh reality to face. It's going to take some time for her to get over it, but I think . . . I think she'll be fine. We just need to give her some time…" She returned her attention to her teammate. "Any word from Sakura-chan yet?"

"No, not yet," Naruto answered. "But knowing her, a word about Asuma's death might just send her back to Konoha especially since Ino's so down. I wouldn't be surprised if she's on her way home right now."

The Hyuga nodded her head. Maybe a surprise visit from her would do everyone some good. Asuma's funeral had been only a couple of days ago, and it had only been yesterday that they've taken care of the two Akatsuki members—Hidan and Kakuzu—who had murdered the man. But taking those two down did not bring any great happiness to anyone other than a small sense of security. They had lost a few shinobi, Asuma being one of those, and those lives could never be replaced.

"But still . . . if Sakura were to be at a faraway place from Konoha then it would cause her some trouble to rush back here," Hinata pointed out. The girl knew, from the letters her friend sent, that Sakura had been fairly busy lately. She didn't want Sakura to feel the need to rush things and come back home especially since she was with family.

"Yeah… I would know… She's always been like that…" Naruto said, looking up at the blue sky and the white bits of fluff in it. "But if we don't tell her about this, she'd have our heads—well, my head mostly. You know her temper. She'd want to know about this even if it means ruining her mood."

Hinata nodded her head.

"Hey, do you think you could maybe—I don't know…" He scratched the back of his head nervously. He didn't know if she'd turn him down just to stay and comfort Ino. "Would you be able to spare some time to train with me and Sai?"

Hinata almost did a double take. The Hyuga heiress _so much_ wanted to say yes—she wanted to spend time with the team, with him—but Ino…

"Of course, she has time!" That loud and peppy voice gave them quite the surprise. And with a hand on Hinata's shoulder, Ino just gave the two a thumbs-up. "I was just going to close shop and see if Kurenai needed any help. She's pregnant, you know?"

"But Ino-chan…" She couldn't believe the face her friend was putting on. Just moments earlier, Ino had still been bawling her eyes out. Her eyes were still so red and puffy. Anyone could tell she had been crying terribly, despite that vivid smile plastered onto her face.

"Now, shoo, shoo!" the platinum blonde said, waving her hands around. Her voice was gentle and kind, but there seemed to be a darker tone underneath. "If you don't get going, I'll sue you for trespassing! Now go!" It took a while, but the Yamanaka was able to chase the two out of the vicinity of her flower shop. If they had actually gone training, she couldn't say.

She rubbed her aching temples and, suddenly, the memories of a pink-haired medic with a large forehead flooded her mind. She really did miss her best friend, the only one who could _really_ comfort her.

"Troublesome woman. Can't there be a minute that you aren't crying?"

Ino didn't realize that her tears were again flowing down her face.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Why was she crying so much?" Sai asked, dodging a kick from the Hyuga heiress. "It's been a few days since her sensei's funeral." He aimed a few punches. "And we've already caught the ones who killed him." But his fists were met with air as Hinata dodged. "Why is she still so sad?"

"Be a little bit more considerate, would ya?" Naruto almost yelled as he socked the boy.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata scolded the blonde before going over to Sai to make sure he was alright.

"What did I say wrong?" the ANBU Root member asked, rubbing his now bruising cheek. He really didn't see why his words were "inconsiderate," as Naruto put it. He was only asking an innocent question, in his opinion.

Hinata shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with . . . with asking questions like that, Sai… But don't say something like that in front of Ino-chan, okay? You're right in that it's been a while since . . . since…" She sighed as she found out she couldn't bring herself to even speak about it, about Asuma's death. "People need time for the reality to sink in, and Ino . . . she has just started to mourn. With something like this, we can't rush her or anyone for that matter."

"I know that, but I still don't understand it…" Sai said. "She has so many people comforting her and seeing if she's alright. Why does it seem like she . . ."—He struggled to find the correct words—"like she's not feeling better? Like she's not _getting_ any better at all?"

"Gee, we can only do so much, you know?" Naruto sneered which got him a slight glare from Hinata, her face covered with initial shock. Why was he being so rude to Sai? She had thought their relationship had gotten better over the past few months. It would appear she was wrong, however.

"Sai, when people find themselves in Ino's situation, it is going to take some time for them to heal those wounds. Everyone is different, and so everyone deals with it a bit differently. For Ino, it'll take a bit longer than the time she's had. Even with . . . with everyone and so many people around her, trying to help her, it's still going to take a while until she's fully recovered from the shock of it all. She might not even recover completely. All we can really do is give her the time she needs."

Sai sat on the grassy ground for a while. His silence told his teammates that he was thinking over what he had been told. During the months that followed their failed attempt to bring back Sasuke, he had been trying his best to get along better with everyone which meant that he had been trying to understand emotions and bonds more. It was a slow and tedious process, but Hinata and Naruto had enjoyed sorting him out, trying to get him to be more thoughtful and more understanding to people's moods and actions.

"So . . . it won't matter _who's_ comforting her?" he asked after a while, his elbow propped up on his knee and his hand on his chin in a thinking position. "She'll _still_ be so sad?"

Hinata didn't want to answer that question. She didn't want to think of such a possibility, the probability that Ino would feel so isolated and alone during her time of grieve and lament.

"What are you think about _now_, Sai?" Naruto gave him a questioning look, one that he usually gave when the boy was going to say something wrong.

"It's just a thought… But what if _Haruno Sakura_ was to come back?" he asked. He still hadn't told his teammates about what went down at Orochimaru's hideout between him and Sakura. For some reason, he couldn't find the courage to tell them that small little fact. And he kept quiet, not because of devotion to the medic but loyalty and friendship to Naruto and Hinata. He did not want them to feel betrayed like they had when Sasuke almost tried to kill them. Plus, the threat she had given him would most likely be carried out if he let out her secret since telling those two the truth would hurt them. (And he had an inkling of an idea what she'd do after seeing Tsunade almost strangle Naruto for calling her old. In the back of his mind, he knew he was a bit afraid of what Sakura could do to him.)

"Would Ino feel better after seeing her?" he continued. "I mean, I heard that the two had been the closest of friends before Sakura-san's departure. Would her return help Ino recover faster?"

Again, Hinata didn't answer. She would most certainly hope that Sakura's homecoming would cheer Ino up, but she wasn't quite sure about it too much. After all, it would be uncertain the amount of time Sakura could stay even if she did come back. Her sudden and unwanted departure could break Ino again without even meaning to. And that was certainly _not_ what Hinata wanted.

It was then that a laugh came from Naruto. "Sai," he asked, still gawking. "You don't have _feelings_ for Ino, do you?"

"What's so funny about that?" Sai asked, a grimace on his face. He really didn't understand. "I thought you and Hinata told me that having concern for your comrades was a good thing."

Hinata just shook her head, a small smile colored her face. "Sai, what Naruto meant was… Hm…" She wondered how she could explain it without confusing him even more. "Well, having feelings doesn't always mean to be considerate. The phrase could also be used as—"

"Sai has a crush on Ino!" Naruto could barely contain his laughter. "Sai and Ino sitting in a tree—"

"We're not sitting in a tree," Sai pointed out, still very much oblivious. "And she's not even _here_."

Of course, at that statement, Naruto's stomach began to hurt as his laughter grew so loud that he fell to the floor.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Tsunade sighed, closing the report. _Really?_ She couldn't help but wonder. _Of all times, something like this pops up…_ She rubbed her aching temple. She really needed some sake right now.

"Tsunade, this cannot wait." Jiraiya explained. "Since there's the possibility of war—"

"Yes, I _know_!" the ember-eyed woman snapped. "Do not _rush_ me while I'm trying to _think_!"

If Jiraiya had not been use to Tsunade's irate tone, he would have winced, and the worry in the woman's voice would have gone unheard. But Jiraiya knew her—after all, she _had_ been his teammate. He knew when she was stressed out and when she was as worried as anyone else would have been in her situation. And he also knew that she was trying to suppress these feelings. Why? You may ask. Well, the answer was simple. She was _Hokage_, the person whom everyone looked to stay strong and protect the village. If she was a nervous wreck, what would happen to the village? But Jiraiya only had the urge to shake his head at this. After all, the woman was only human. And humans needed to show their emotions most of the time.

"You know, you don't have to act so strong." he told her. "If you're worried, instead of pushing me away, confide in me with your worries. I'll always be here to listen to them, whether or not I can help."

Her eyes softened, and a smile almost tugged her lips. Almost. "Thanks," she said, the littlest hint of a smile disappeared. The possibility of war was too grave. She could not take it easy. "How's Sakura?" But nevertheless, she wanted off of the topic.

It was Jiraiya's turn to tense. He had not wanted to get on that subject this time around.

One of Tsunade's eyebrows rose. "Well? Anything to report?" she asked, a bit frustrated by the man's reluctance to answer her question. "How is she? She hasn't written to me in a while." Her eyes widened with worry then, and she stood from her seat, her hands slammed on her desk. "Did something _happen_ to her?" she almost yelled the question, her voice rising up two octaves.

"What? _NO_!" Jiraiya almost screamed the answer out. "Of course not! I wouldn't _dare_ let _anything_ happen to your apprentice! I wouldn't allow it! She's fine! _Perfectly_ fine! Safe as can be! Yep, she's perfectly and utterly _safe_! Why would you think something bad has happened? She's _FINE_!"

Tsunade only stared at the old man. She wasn't dumb. She had seen the way Jiraiya tensed. _Something_ was up. Her suspicions were only confirmed when the man started sweating like crazy and spitting out whatever he said as if he were on fire.

"Jiraiya…" she said, her tone dark. If anything had happened to Sakura, she'd—

"Look," the male Sannin started again. He took a breath to calm himself. "Sakura has been doing well, but she hasn't been able to find a criminal from the bingo book for a while already. She's a bit . . . _err_, disappointed with herself. That's all. I don't know why I reacted the way I did to your question—perhaps I've really grown to fear you and your monstrous strength." He chuckled a bit, scratching his head. "Anyway, I guess I was just a bit afraid of your reaction. After all, you'd probably _kill_ me if Sakura just cries once."

Tsunade held her stare—her eyes now held a bit of disbelief in them. When her butt met with the soft cushion of her chair, she still didn't take her eyes off of her old teammate, almost as if she were watching him for any sudden movements that would give away whatever he was hiding. And when she opened her mouth to say something, Jiraiya could only brace himself for the worst.

"Well, you got that right."

"Yes, I know, and I'm—_wait_," Jiraiya stopped in mid-apology and could only stare back at the woman with wide unbelieving dinner plates. "Come again?"

"If Sakura were suffering, of course, _naturally_, I'd blame you." the Hokage explained. "It's in my nature, after all. I trained her, so I've become quite close with her. I was horribly shocked when she was made hunter-nin, and I'm still in shock, but I'm coping with it better each day, though it's still hard to do so. However, I count on _you_ to give me weekly or even daily reports on her so that I know she's okay and so that I know I haven't failed her as a mentor. I know I take a lot of my anger out on you, but I didn't realize I could actually strike so much fear into your heart as to cause you to hide even the littlest bit of information from me. For that, I am sorry."

"Oh, it's no problem, Tsunade." Again, the old man scratched his head, chuckling slightly. His laughter almost sounded forced, and that didn't escape Tsunade's ears. "I overreacted. No biggie."

The Hokage gave a small smile. "That's good to hear. So anyway…" she sighed, placing her hand on top of the report she had just recently read. "Since Sakura has no leads on any criminals and since she has nothing to do, I'd like you to pass along the message that it'd be nice if she could check this little problem out for us."

"Oh, _that_? Well, erm… I'll see what I can do, but she . . . she's a bit further away from that place, and it might prove to be a small problem… But um . . . _Oh_! Would you look at the time?" he asked, changing the subject a bit too quickly. "I really must get going—gots lots of research to do, you know?—but I'll pass along your message the next time I see her! Ja ne!"

"Oh, wait! Also tell her to write to me soon!" Tsunade yelled after him as he jumped out of the window.

When he landed on a nearby rooftop, he turned back to see the Hokage looking at the report again. She looked a bit grumpy—whether it was because of his sudden departure or because of her soon-coming migraine, he didn't know. _Well, at least, she doesn't know yet…_ He gave out an exasperated sigh. _Sakura, you sure really are something… How you wind up in Oto as an "honored guest," I'll never know… But Tsunade's definitely not hearing it from _me_. _That's_ for sure…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As Tsunade flipped through the pages in the report, she skimmed over its details. She couldn't really concentrate on that right now, even though it should've held the most priority.

"He's sure acting strange today, Lady Tsunade," Shizune echoed her thoughts. The dark-haired woman watched as Jiraiya hopped out of sight.

"Yes, he is…" the Slug Sannin said, heaving a bit. "Something must have gone wrong with Sakura's mission."

"Then should I—"

The Hokage shook her head. "No, I don't think sending your squad is necessary. If the problem was _that_ big then Jiraiya would have spoken up. I believe it's something smaller but still wearisome… It must be something he believes Sakura can handle by herself, something that might become even more complicated if I were to send more people to resolve it."

"I understand, Lady Tsunade, but still…" Shizune turned her head back to looking out the window. "I wonder what's going on… I'm a bit worried."

"As am I. But that's not the priority right now." The blonde slammed her fist onto the report. "This is."

"Well, as I said before, my squad has nothing to do right now, so…"

Tsunade thought about it for a moment. The offer was tempting, especially with her head hurting so, but the information was taxing. The most random of shinobi disappearing at the most random of times, the officials and heads of clans with no leads whatsoever, and the culprit still at large…

"Get Team Kakashi and send for Shikamaru and his team."

"But…" Shizune was hesitant to argue. However, she knew the procedures. "Shikamaru's team has just lost their former sensei. The given time of mourning—"

"Yes, I know, but that'll have to be put off for a while." the Hokage said. "Right now, Kiri is angry with us since it is _their_ shinobi who have gone missing and it is near _our_ borders that this is happening. War is a very sure possibility right now. I want to give them all the time they need, but I cannot risk war at this moment. I need their teams for this."

"Understood." And with that, Shizune ran off to gather the teams.

Rubbing her forehead, Tsunade could only sigh. _I'm sorry, Sakura… Your best friend is suffering so much right now, but I can't afford to give her the time to recover… Forgive me, Ino…_

* * *

**Ja ne = see you soon; later**

**Okay, so yeah, it's real stupid, I think. But that's the best I could come up with. Sorry… Again, the next chapter won't come out soon because _Heart Under Blade_ has a bit more complicated plot to it, so I'll have to work on that a bit more before this since that one is a bit behind in plot. But to pass the time, read my new oneshots and fanfics! They _all_ contain NaruHina, no matter what the main couple is! Thank you and see you next time!**


End file.
